Firstly, I know it's an invite not a summons, but I do want to go.
A good friend has organised her wedding for May in London (a 2-hour flight or 10-hour train from where we both live - I don't fly as I have a horrible phobia of it but no-one other than DH knows as I'm too ashamed to tell anyone).
I'm a teacher currently on maternity leave with DC3, who will be 5 months at the time of the wedding. The wedding is scheduled for literally the first weekend after my mat leave finishes (horrible timing) and of course in my job can't get any extra time off.
I'll need to take DC3 with me (breast feeding) but think it would be very unfair to take the two older kids (4&5) - 20 hours on a train, 2 nights in different hotels, one day keeping quiet at the wedding and then back to school on Monday - recipe for disaster.
I'd need to ask to leave school early on Friday to travel (missing final class of the day which is a horrible way to start back and massively frowned upon), DH would have to take time off work to bring me DC3 and get DC1&2 from school. DH would stay at home as no-one else to look after older kids.
I'd arrive just in time for the wedding, and have to leave immediately on Sunday morning to get back to school on Monday. I'd be looking after DC3 on my own (though admittedly they are quite easy at that age), I wouldn't know anyone at the wedding apart from bride and groom, honestly I'm a bit miffed that I'd be going all the way to London -rare treat- and wouldn't have time for anything else at all (not that that should be a factor), not to mention the exorbitant cost of the whole expedition.
And of course it's going to be very difficult to explain to my friend as the whole thing would be much easier if only I was willing to fly down.
So basically I don't know how to deal with the whole thing. I really want to see her get married but the whole weekend sounds like an absolute nightmare. What shall I do?