Many people have difficulty saying "no." But generally, it is for good things..such as volunteering too much, over committing at work or school., working out more than they should.....I have this problem as well, although for nothing really useful except for the benefit of random sales people..I could go on and on with examples, but I will narrow them down to a few instances in which I was a complete jack ass.. My husband Ted, often refers to these moments as "Did you buy a second chicken Sarah?"
1) Boston Market 2005- I decided to pick up dinner for Ted and Keegan on my way home from work. I could probably eat more than them combined, which is nothing to brag about, but helps explain the dumbness of myself. So I order some basic "Family Meal" chicken, sides, drinks, whatever..It was near closing time, and the voice over the drive-thru asks me if I would like an extra chicken for $5? Um yeah I would, sounds amazing...No Sarah, you don't want 2 greasy ass chickens, you really don't even want the one you intended to buy..and really, how many people live in your house? So, before I thought all that through, I brought the chickens home, only to have Ted look at me and shake his head..and we threw the second chicken away, but it only cost $5.
2) Harlem Furniture 2002- My first big purchase after college was a cherry wood bedroom set. I paid for it on my own, shopped for it on my own, negotiated ALL the details on my own, cause I was a big girl now. So when handing over the credit card and asking if I wanted the "refinishing plan,"for only $100, how could I refuse? I imagined some hot carpenter smoothing away all the imperfections I would accumulate over time..Yeah, not so much. When you don't ask for more details, the salesman then hands you a really nice set of furniture sharpie type markers, to fix the furniture scratches yourself..oh awesome, markers, I love to draw...
3) The next few stores are examples of where I monthly, weekly, sometimes daily, get taken advantage of and I run back for more abuse. "Mam, if you buy six anti-bacterial soaps, you get 2 free." Well, hell yeah, the kids love to wash their hands (Bath & Body Works). "Your air filter looks awful, you should use fancier oil for that Honda, and we can rotate your tires." Well, you know best, geez. Thanks (Jiffy Lube). "If you buy just $20 dollars more worth of merchandise, you can get $5 off your next purchase." Well, the girls do need ridiculous barrettes to match those outfits. You win (Gymboree).
4) This might be where I am the most gullible...door to door kids selling me stuff. I can just imagine them crying or not making "their goal," all because I didn't purchase their coupon book/pizzas/cookies/magazines..therefore, we have lots of those. Just tonight I wrote a check to two teenage boys so that they could get some savings bonds. I felt proud that I actually asked them what they were going to do with the money. "Community College." Amazing, I think. "Then what?" I ask.."Mam, I don't really know, real estate or some shit like that." Cool, I am empowering our youth, and it feels really good.
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