also I saw a picture of a cat in a sweater, so my day is complete

Last week one of our neighbors was talking about how another neighbor had asked them for a favor, and they felt guilty about saying no, and I told them it was good to know their boundaries. And I told them, "It's okay to ask, and it's okay to say no." And all the while I was thinking 'oh yeah, I'm definitely getting a good grade in being a neighbor, something that is reasonable to want and possible to achieve.'

FAST FORWARD to last night, when the same neighbor asked ME for a favor, and I felt SO GUILTY about saying no, and I was over here repeating 'it's okay to ask, and it's okay to say no' to myself like a mantra. And -- it kind of helped? Shocking, but somehow true.

So, yeah, in case that's useful out there in the universe. It's okay to ask, and it's okay to say no.