Dear Prudence,
My mother has always wanted to take her three children on a cruise. My brother hates boats, and my sister and I are usually too busy between work and school. I’m the only one who lives with my mom, and we also work together. She just told me she booked a weeklong cruise for the two of us! I’m in college, and this trip is scheduled in the middle of my classes. My mom didn’t even run it by me before buying tickets, which is unusual for her.
If I miss more than three classes I drop a full letter grade, and going on vacation with my mother is not good enough for my professors to overlook a full week’s absence. I also recently adopted a dog who still needs a lot of daily care. I can’t spare this time, and I wouldn’t want to even if I could. I know my mother is trying to be nice, and I do appreciate it, but I don’t want to go on a cruise at all, I don’t want to leave my new dog for a week, and I can’t miss that much school. She’s already paid for it, but I’m a broke college kid—I couldn’t possibly reimburse her. This has me stressed out to the point of tears.