I Said No

Today I was asked to work extra.  I worked extra hours Friday and also ended up seeing a patient on Saturday, so I felt just fine saying No to today's request.  It's my day off.  My downstairs table and filing cabinet and bookshelves are lost under piles of things.  We are now required to have our "desk" at home, no space in our new office for anyone but bosses and secretaries.  The rest of us have what they are calling a Virtual Office.  Fancy techno-term for No Office For Peons.    My virtual office exists in the physical world here at home and is going to get organized today.  AND I have to finish some kind of online test today which is going to take me a while, for work, or I don't know what will happen. So I couldn't really see patients.  Also I would lose my mind if I had to do that too, so I said, No.

There is an art to saying no gracefully.  I am not particularly good at it.  I tend to do that overexplaining thing when I have to say no.  (See above overexplanation as example.)  Really, if I ask someone to do something and they can't, I would just prefer them to say No I'm Sorry I Can't.  And be done with it.

Yesterday I asked 3 people to do something for someone else.  One person joyfully said yes.  One person really wanted to and then realized they could not on the needed day but said "Keep me in mind for another time!"  And the third one acted very strange about it, overexplained, then walked away frowning.  I don't know why that person frowned.  Did they not liked being asked?  Did they just feel badly saying No?

I still love all three of those people.  It just reminds me to say No as joyfully as I say Yes.  Please keep that in mind the next time I offer you hummus!!!