i'm saying 'no'..

A long-time girlfriend called me over the weekend asking me to help her out at an event she's doing at the race circuit for the upcoming f1 this weekend. Something about hosting some lunches & dinners at the hospitality booth for the pit crew & media or something like that.

Had to pass on the weekend stint as we will be out of town attending a family function. Then she asked if I would be free on Monday to Wednesday to help her out (and not forgetting to miss out the "We'll pay you lah").

I didn't need to bat an eyelid to decline the offer although it would mean that I would have gotten the chance to ogle at the pit crew upfront and not via binoculars like how I did back then. If it were any other day, I would have said yes but unfortunately I couldn't make myself free (being chauffeur to the daughter lah). The hubby felt bad that I had to turn it down cos she's a long long long long time friend and he felt bad that we couldn't help her. I told him too bad but family comes before friends. I told him its pointless for me to say yes to her, go there for a couple of hours then drive all the way back her mid-day when I'm supposed to be 'working' to fetch the daughter from school. I might as well not go. The hubby still felt bad but left it up to me to decide.

Sometimes we find it difficult to say NO to our friends for fear of hurting them or their feelings. Sometimes we find it difficult to say the things that our friends should hear instead of want to hear because we don't want to them to feel bad. Sometimes they get angry or mad at us simply for saying NO or refusing to help them or not telling them the things they want to hear and say we are not supportive of them. But should we feel guilty for doing what we did? Are we really out there to get them?

I guess I can only do to the best of my abilities. How they want to judge me, by my words or my actions is their prerogative. If they hate me for it, no big deal. If they appreciate me for it, then I am indeed blessed for their friendship. And any friend of mine worth their salt would know me for who I am and why I do the things I do..

So, it's quite simple really - purse your lips, tip of the tongue of top of the 'langit-langit' (what's this called in English ah?) & just say NO.