So my parents are coming to town for my daughters' birthdays (they are 3 days apart). My parents come out a lot actually. When my mom came out in July on a visit with my sister I spent most of a day with her. I drive up to my sister's on a regular basis, she lives about 1 1/2 hours away. We are good together, I tend to need things to do and she needs some good social interactions since she has severe anxiety. When my parents visit this time we have a Friday dinner planned, and loose plans for Saturday. My parents have helped me so much over the years, and despite some complaining on my part they are good people.
Meanwhile my nun friend/teacher is holding a daylong retreat. This is one of my major social interactions. Yeah we sit around and don't talk but it is my thing. I also had a request from a young man in Denver who can't afford the bus ticket plus the fee to get down there for a ride. He is a super nice guy who comes to our group, actually a female to male transgender man. I have been hearing in our group the huge stress levels from our LGBTQ members and so I feel grateful to have a chance to support retreat time for him. Primary reason however for picking retreat over parents is that I have worked hard to develop my own social life and I need to value and support that.
Soooo, yeah I am leaning towards retreat but also want to not feel guilt.