Family vacations are supposed to be the rare time everyone relaxes together, which is why they so often begin with a spreadsheet and end with someone crying in a parking lot. In this case, the trouble started the moment a 35-year-old sister announced a big summer trip, added the whole extended family to a group chat, and presented it like a cute surprise rather than what it actually was, a completed purchase.

The 29-year-old sister lives in another city, got added to the chat too, and assumed she would help pick dates or at least vote on a budget. Instead she watched the decisions arrive like a weather report. Location chosen. Dates locked. Hotel booked. Not a single question directed at her, just upbeat updates as if she were a guest invited to applaud.