Usually when the telephone rings first thing in the morning it’s someone who wants something from me, wants to design my day, wants to set the agenda. When the phone rings, we need to remember our own agendas. “You have an agenda for your day? Since when? I swear you said you were going to do that last week? Don’t you know that my agenda always takes precedence over yours; why else would I be calling you first thing in the morning? How dare you!”
This is how I dare.
I’m sorry that you have things on your plate that you need to get done. Just go and do them. I’m sorry that you want others to know how horribly important and special those things are. Can’t help you there. I’m sorry that you think you can arrange my life without first asking me what my plans are. How presumptuous.
I am sorry.
Believe it or not…I have an agenda too. Only difference is... I am not calling you first thing in the morning to tell you what your agenda will be because of it.
How many ways and how many times can a person say they are sorry?
And so a new day begins…Sorry, but not derailed.
Are we pissed off today?
I would be too if somebody bothered me or woke me up early to do something for them when i had other things to do, other plans, especially if some of those other plans meant relaxing because i'm having a bit of a hard time at the moment. But it also depends on the person and how they are asking you to do something for them; are they kind? Non-intrusive? Is there no guilt tripping? Are they demanding or asking? Would they do the same for you? I think those are the big questions that make doing a favor for somebody out of kindness different from being played as a sucker. Then again, i guess it also depends on the relationship between the two people to begin with as well. Well, enough is enough - LIGHTEN UP!!
...sheesh.....
Boy do I ever understand what you're writing about Mr. Mark. When someone tries to bulldoze me, I get really freaked. (My sister has a long history of driving a bulldozer.) Sometimes I will stand up for myself, and sometimes I sit on my reaction and let it fester until it becomes much bigger than it should have been and I end up resenting EVERYTHING!
Being asked for a favour is not the same thing as being bulldozed. A bulldozer just knocks everything down, its sole focus to level what is in front of it...regardless.
Personally, I hate asking for favours, like getting help moving, or lugging couches up four flights of stairs (wink), or co-ordinating something nice to wear out for dinner, but yes, sometimes we need help. In my eyes, the difference between bulldozing and asking for favours is the humility in which the asking/bulldozing is done. If a person can't take your schedule/feelings/abilities/etc. into consideration, you probably don't have the loyalty to do what they're asking. So I guess this dilemma begs the question: How do you lovingly set boundaries and say no?
I have begun to hate the sound of the house telephone ringing...
It is never good news, or someone inviting us to a party, or a long lost friend or lover reconnecting. It is almost always the lawn service, or an annoying marketing call or worse... as described above.