Etiquette | People Pleasing | Saying “No” More

I Said ‘Come & Join Me’ and She Really Brought her Spoon

When being a polite person bites you in the ass and stomach!

You won’t even believe what this stranger did to me. Some things will scare you for life.

I promise you this wasn’t even some April Fool’s joke. She really took my words seriously. (This is your reminder not to fall for any April Fool’s joke today. You’re welcome👍🏽).

I always try to be sensitive and helpful, but this event left me wondering if it’s ever worth it!

I was supposed to catch a flight, but the worst thing happened. You guessed right. I missed the flight because I was teaching this old lady how to upload an Instagram story.

Imagine giving directions to a deaf and dumb? Exactly!

She took up my time, achieving nothing and, worse — missing the boarding announcement.

I returned to my boarding gate, and it was like the rapture had taken place. Not a single soul or travelling box was there.

Is this what I get for being a people pleaser? I highly recommend!

Thankfully, the airline was kind enough to help me reschedule another flight. Got food and quickly walked back to my boarding gate while avoiding eye contact with anyone (so I don’t end up teaching someone how to attach a file on their email app).

Got back to my seat & yet another old lady sat beside me. Greeted her while still avoiding eye contact (for obvious reasons).

As I had my food, I politely asked her, “Come and join me.” What happened next left me with PTSD.

This old lady had the nerve and said, “Sure, why not?”

She brought a cutlery set from her bra, didn’t attempt to clean them, and just dove right into my food.

“This tastes really good. Where did you get them?”

How could she take advantage of my politeness disguised as generosity? Like!! Didn’t she know the rules?

I thought she would do what any decent person would: graciously turn it down even if she’s hungry.

But no, all of a sudden, I found myself having lunch with a stranger that I had no idea what type of bacteria she had invited into the food through her breast.

I thought that was worse; she still requested that I take her a selfie while she ate so she could send it to her grandchildren. The only issue was that her phone didn’t have a camera, but she insisted it was possible to take a picture with a camera-less phone.

She almost swallowed the plate, leaving me with crumbs to eat. I felt hungrier than I was before buying the food

At this point, I was done giving so much of myself to this person I barely knew for 2 seconds.

She changed her seat when she noticed how uncomfortable she was making me feel.

It seemed like she finally realized her mistake: Never take someone literally when they ask if you can join while they’re eating.

While I’m never going to make eye contact with anyone at an airport ever again, I’m also never going to say the words “Come and join me.”

I’m glad I could help, but it’ll be the last of it.

Sigh! 😮‍💨

PS: did you fall for any April fool’s prank today? Gist me 👇🏽