We Took My Sister-in-Law and Her Child on Holiday With Us – I Regretted It a Thousand Times, and the Most Insulting Part Was That It Wasn’t the Child Who Caused Trouble, but My Sister-in-Law Herself

My husband and I were heading off on our annual seaside holiday. For a few years now, weve been venturing to the coast with our friends, each in our own cars. The truth is, were quite the wild bunch. We pick out a random stretch of beach, pitch our tents and proclaim ourselves kings and queens of sand and sunburn. Our days are spent paddling about in the chilly British sea, sunbathing (with all due caution for our pale English skin), and occasionally attempting the herculean task of brewing tea over a camping stove. Once darkness falls, we gather around a crackling campfire, strumming the guitar, belting out questionable renditions of The Beatles, and sipping a glass of dry red wine from plastic cups that we pretend are crystal.

This year, my sister-in-law Rebecca decided to join the adventure. She brought along her two-and-a-half-year-old son. They both managed to wedge themselves in with us and my mother-in-lawlovely, isnt it? Take it or leave it, as they say.

Sadly, we allowed ourselves to be persuadeda rookie mistake. Spoiler alert: the issues werent with the boy, but with dear Rebecca. The trouble started before wed even set up a single tent peg. Every hour or so, Rebecca demanded we pull over so she could have a proper stretchshe was apparently utterly exhausted from the strain of sitting in a car. By the time we arrived, our friends had already bathed, dried, and probably written their memoirs. Oh well. We made it.

Then part two began. Rebecca had a proper meltdown: Im not staying here! Theres just sand everywhere!

But why not? We told you we go full-on wild camping, I said, valiantly trying to keep my cool.

I thought wild meant finding a quaint little cottage ourselves, not booking a hotel room through a travel agent, she huffed.

Why do you think we brought the sleeping bags and tents? my husband growled, channeling his inner bear.

I thought you were just being eccentricof course youd stay in a tent, she shot back.

So, clearly beaten, we had to rent her a room at a local B&B. To top it all off, my brother was dispatched as a personal chauffeur to fetch and return her every day and to ferry her to whichever tea shop or market caught her fancy. Meanwhile, the rest of us took turns minding her son while Rebecca recuperated from her arduous morning lounge.

On the subject of her son, he was an absolute delightwell-behaved, cheerfully splashing in the sea, eating whatever was on offer without protest, and napping contentedly in the tent by day. Quite the contrast with his mother, really.

Next year, weve vowed not to invite Rebecca. But if her sons parents beg us to take him off their hands for a bit, wellhes always welcome. The childs a marvelous little fellow, one of a kind.