Dear Prudence,
My husband used to work for a major theme park. As a perk, we could get guests into the park for free. It was a bit of a family tradition that I would take the kids of the family for an outing or two while their parents got a little time for themselves. The rules were simple: They had to be potty trained and only family. I wasn’t taking time off to take everyone on earth for a free vacation. At the end of my husband working there, my brother had been dating “Sara” for a few months. Sara was a single mom of two and I had never met her or her kids at that point. My brother wanted to bring Sara and the kids down for a visit with all the bells and whistles. I declined. A girlfriend of a few months didn’t fit the family rule and my husband and I were looking at relocating. My brother ended up marrying Sara. And Sara is the type never to forget a slight or let go of a grudge.
At every family gathering if someone mentions the subject, Sara has to get her digs in at me. I have tried to rise above it but I finally snapped. She made a comment that we “owed” her kids a trip. I told Sara to stop being so cheap and pay for her own damn vacation. Sara made a scene and they left early. I am not sorry it was said, I am sorry that Sara’s kids were present. She has said worse in front of them. The family is divided about the upcoming holidays. Our parents don’t want another fight but the rest of us are tired of Sara and her entire entitlement. My brother is firmly under his wife’s thumb so there is no hope there. What should we do other than skip the holidays all together?
—Need a Vacation