A Lost Quality

I’m not a saint, and this is not a saintly journal entry. This is just me venting a few of my frustrations.

I am eternally grateful when people decide that they’d like to do me a favor, and I won’t thank them enough if they lift the weight of work and worry off my shoulders, or just go out of their way to make me a little happier. I like it when I ask someone for a favor and they decide to do it for me, I love it when they offer it themselves.

When someone tell me that they’ll do something for me, or when they agree to do something on request, I see that as an equivalent to promising me to do something.

“Oh sure, I’ll do that for you.” to me, is the same as “I promise you that I will do that for you.”

Lately, in the past year or so, I’ve come across a lot of people that will tell me that they will do something for me, and end up falling through on me. Usually these are people that are very close to me. Usually they’ll tell me that they won’t be able to do that particular favor right before I’m not able to arrange something myself. Usually, I’m able – with some heavy crisis management, trouble shooting and backroom dealings – get done what I wanted to get done in the first place. Usually I want to cave in their skulls with a brick.

If you are not sure if you can help me out, then don’t offer. Understand that when I accept your help, that I’ll rely on you to do the things you told me you would. I put my trust in you to do whatever it is you said you’d do.

If you don’t offer, I’ll find another way to take care of it. Don’t wait until the last minute to tell me you can’t help me, then I won’t have enough time to comfortably review my alternate options.