All names are fake…

My mom (F49) is really close to her friend, Erin (F50~). They’ve known each other for years, and got really close during quarantine.

So close, that my mom goes over there two-three times a week to spend the night at her house and they’ve gone on several vacations together including Iceland, Arizona, Mexico, Cabo, New York, etc.

Since I am graduating next year my mom has already agreed in the past that we are going to go wherever I’d like to for my graduation, and I chose Japan. It has already been established that I just want it to be family coming along since my mom always invites Erin and tends to do whatever THEY want to do instead of the rest of us—Dad, Brother, I—since Erin is very particular, and they want a more adventurous trip while we want to take the laid back approach.

However, last week, I decided to bring up the topic again since I just started school and wanted to discuss it a bit more before I forgot. After I finished, my mom adds that she will invite Erin since she’s also always wanted to go there too, it’s her dream destination, etc seemingly disregarding how this trip was meant to focus on MY graduation.

Every time we bring up a dream family vacation, she mentions she wants to invite Erin and suggests I bring my close friend, too, I believe, to compensate. I got really angry, but tried to keep my cool since we’ve had these fights before about her always being gone somewhere with Erin, and they never get resolved or end in a shouting match.

I simply repeated that I did not want Erin coming because my mom only caters to her, and if she was going to invite her, I might as well just take the trip alone. My mom laughed at my pettiness and didn’t acknowledge anything I said before slamming the front door.

I feel bad because Erin is a good person but she is a leech that always use my mother to pay for stuff. I just don’t understand why it has to be during my graduation trip.