Sister-in-law stopped talking to me?

Question

I had a party for my parents for their anniversary. My sister-in-law wanted her sister to take pictures at the party and come to the party, (her sister isn't related). I told her that was not needed for this and she was not invited to the party. It is 10 months later and she will still not talk to me! I've tried a few times but she gets real snippy. Should I just give up. I'm still close to my brother and they have been married many years. How long can someone hold a grudge?

Answer 1

This is a really stupid reason for the two of you to not be talking.  Someone has to take the high road here and break this silence.

Maybe she doesn't understand that seating was limited and you were getting requests from many other places you you had to come up with a "policy" or standard answer for people who wanted to invite others.  Can you sit down and explain this to her?  

Then tell her you're sorry that things turned out this way, you didn't understand how important it was to her for her sister to be there.  Hopefully once you actually talk to each other you'll be able to patch this right up.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Let it go. This is her issue, not yours.  

Answer 3

People can hold a grudge forever.

If you haven't apologized for excluding someone from a party (her sister) then why would she feel the need to talk to you?  Would it have really killed you to allow a relative of your bother to come to a party?  Her sister is the sister-in-law of your brother-- that's related.

Answer 4

You have no reason to apologize. It was rude and presumptuous of her to think that she could just invite someone else, even if it was her sister. She should understand about limited seating and behave like an adult, not a child. Have you talked to your brother about it?

If you want to take the high road, you could apologize that you "weren't able to invite her sister to the party, and that you are sorry if she was offended". If that isn't good enough, then forget about it. Some people DO hold grudges forever, no matter what you do or how much you apologize. Don't let her punish you anymore. As long as it isn't affecting your relationship with your brother, I would not worry about it.