I'm about to start sending my sister requests for being her kids' unpaid chauffeur.
By @niakinda · Family
My sister has me down as the default person to drive her two kids everywhere. I'm a stay-at-home mom, so she thinks my schedule is totally free, but her lack of planning is ruining mine.
The full story
I love my sister, I really do. We live in the same town, our kids are close in age, and since she's a single mom and I'm a SAHM, it just kind of... happened. At first it was a one-off "can you grab my daughter from soccer, I'm stuck in a meeting?" which is totally fine. But now it's an everyday assumption. She'll text me in the morning, "Hey can u get the kids from school today?" and if I do, then at 2:45 she'll add "oh and can u drop my son at karate at 4?" without even asking if I have my own things to do. The problem is, I DO. I have my own kids' appointments (orthodontist, tutoring, playdates I actually scheduled in advance) and I plan my errands and my youngest's nap schedule around our own routine. But the real issue isn't even the driving, it's that she has zero respect for my time. Last Tuesday, she said her daughter needed to be picked up from a friend's house at 5. I show up at 5, and the girls are still playing. The other mom says "oh, your sister just called and said she's running late and to have you wait." She didn't text me. they told the other parent. I waited for 25 minutes in the car with my own tired, hungry kids whining in the back. That delay made us hit rush hour traffic, and we were late for our own dinner, which pushed back homework, which pushed back bedtime. The whole evening was a mess. My husband thinks it's hilarious and says I should start my own little taxi service. He suggested I send her a Venmo request for '$10 Gas + $5 Lateness Fee' at the end of every week. He was mostly joking, but the idea is living in my head rent-free. I feel like it's the only thing that will make her see that my time is also valuable. I don't want to start a family war over this, but I'm losing my mind. Would it be insane to actually do it?
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 36% (32 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 38% (33 votes)
- You’re Fine — 26% (23 votes)
Readers are split: “It’s Complicated” leads with 38% — 88 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@welpok — lmao
@hanky — your husband is a genius.
@noelok2 — Cooked.
@judekk — She's taking advantage of your kindness. It's not fair to you or your kids. A simple 'no, that doesn't work for me' is a complete sentence!
@onlymondays — do it do it do it
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