Saying no

I have been practicing saying no.

Someone rang me yesterday and asked if I could do some freelance work for them. I said I didn’t have capacity.

This is very unlike me because I am very bad at saying no.

I hate feeling like I am letting people down.

But the past couple of months have taught me that there are limits to how much I can physically accomplish without losing the plot.

Last night the eldest came home and said he had free tickets to a movie and his friend had pulled out, so did I want to go with him?

My children never ask me to go places with them so I felt a bit like a rock star.

The movie was also playing at the most gorgeous little cinema called the Golden Age.

So I was briefly excited and very tempted to go, mainly because of the never-getting-asked -to-go-places-with-my-children thing.

But I said no because I have a big day today, the Golden Age was over the bridge in Surry Hills, the movie started at 8.15pm and it was Stalker, a 1979 black & white Soviet science fiction art film.

There were quite a few personal alarm bells in that sentence.

The synopsis for the movie on IMDB said: “In a small, unnamed country there’s an area called the Zone. It’s an unusual area, and within its a place known as the Room, where it’s believed wishes are granted. The government declared The Zone a no-go area and have sealed it off. This hasn’t stopped people from entering the Zone. A writer, and a professor, want to reach the Zone. Their guide – a man known as a stalker, has a special relation with the Zone.”

Intriguing. But not intriguing enough to cancel out the 8.15pm start and the movie being in Russian.

I felt like such a heel turning the offer down.

So I suggested we see Barbie with Aunty Kathryn next week. We both agreed that sounded like an excellent alternative plan and the eldest headed off into the night to see the strange Russian film on their own.