Because I Said So

We all need to set boundaries. One of the more overlooked steps is actually telling other people what they are. The conversations in my head can be so vivid and full of feelings that I can easily forget that no one else has been invited.

One summer day I was awoken at 7AM by the phone. At this time, I was still intensely entangled with my mother's day-to-day health problems and so I fearfully answered anticipating an emergency (powerless to assist, but anyway...).

Turns out a friend just wanted to chat. He thought it was 7PM. Drinking around the clock will do that to you. Someday later (because I am slow to act on resolutions) I told him that I did not feel comfortable talking to him when he was drunk. A boundary was set and the consequences of crossing that line were spelled out. Please grant me the courage to do things like that more often.

Rating: 3 out of 10.

Recommended instead: Bad Santa (more Lauren Graham, among 100 other reasons)