“Can I drop my daughter off?”
“Meet the new neighbors!”
“Family is coming for Thanksgiving!”
My head was swimming. I waited for someone to throw me a lifeline. Would anyone say no? No to the requests placed upon my family?
The friend’s child came over, the new neighbor’s kids came over, the Thanksgiving plans were being made, and I wanted to shout, “NO”!
My name is Jean, and I was raised by hermits. I guess you could say I am a closet hermit. Others gain energy from visitors, but company makes me sweat. I’m out of my comfort zone in my own home. It’s a strange sensation. I try to overcome my emotions knowing social interaction is important to my family. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to say NO this NO-vember.
Say it with me.
NO!
Can I….?
NO!
Will you…?
NO!
It’s liberating!
The Mayo clinic agrees, saying NO reduces your stress and frees you up for the important things in your life. What’s important to me today is feeding my family, watching the food channel, emailing my parents, and taking my daughters to Target.
Tom actually jumped on the NO-vember bandwagon this morning when the new neighbor children brought over a stray mastiff while Tom was feeding the chickens. Long story short, animal control is going to rehabilitate the dog who needs to gain about 150 lbs. Tom also had a talk with the neighbor, letting him know we have some ground rules like NO stray dogs in the yard!
The timing of Thanksgiving (the 28th this year) coincides with when we pick up our magazine from Anaheim, so I’ve suggested we spend the holiday at our relatives’ home. I know, they love coming here to relax at our humble abode, but that really isn’t convenient. Why not move the event to their home?
Saying no isn’t easy for me. How about for you?
Tags: anti-social, beat it, get lost, hermit, learn to say no, NO, November, phobia, put yourself first, scram
