Oh yeah, and today spawned another crappy feeling as well. (Keep in mind that I did not, in fact, have a bad day; I had rather a good one. But this was just a frustrating moment.) I'm coming home from college this weekend for fall break, and my parents and I had coordinated how they were going to get my sister and I home, who was going to pick us up, and so on and so forth. I thought everything was set. But today my sister's boyfriend's mother emailed my mother (they're friends), and offered to drive us home on Friday, to which my mother automatically said yes, since she'd have to drive two hours up here by herself, which she hates.
I'm not happy about this. But before I go any further, consider the following things:
1) I do not hate my sister's boyfriend. Actually, I don't mind him at all. He's a perfectly nice person, and apparently my passive-aggressive nature intimidates him a little, which I can appreciate.

I also am not opposed to their relationship. My sister can date whomever she chooses, and I (most likely) won't try to stand in her way.
2) I do not hate my sister's boyfriend's parents. I have only met them once, but they seem like decent people, friendly and talkative, the kind of people who would ask me about my life and listen to the stories I tell, like many of the adults in my life at home. It's not like sitting in a car with them for two hours will be utter torture.
3) I do not want my parents to be inconvenienced. My mother feels more comfortable not driving us back by herself, and coming back on Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning will allow us to see my dad before he goes off for a weekend retreat with the church youth group. All well and good.
OK, so now that those misconceptions are cleared up...here's the problem. I'm having third-wheel issues. Even though I'm sure his parents will strive to include me in conversations and such, I just get incredibly awkward feelings when I think about a car ride with my sister, her boyfriend, his parents...and then me. No matter how nice they are, no matter how good it is to offer to take this burden off my parents, I was looking forward to having my mom up here to drive us like usual, and I was looking forward to having a break from constantly seeing my sister and her boyfriend together. Often these days I feel like a third wheel around them, and I'd rather not have to endure that on long car trips, especially if we're all crammed in the back seat together, as we're likely to be. I feel like it's selfish to be so demanding of this, because again: it's a nice thing to do, and I know that it won't cause me any pain to just do it. It just frustrates me, that's all. *Grr*
Saena