Does your family know you had to throw around your entire flight schedule to be at a baby birthday party?

Does your family appreciate the fact that you actually went and did that? Because it strikes me you really didn’t have to. With one week’s notice, you could have said, “Aw, I wish I’d known! I’m going to be in Europe. Let me know earlier next time and I’ll definitely be there.”

Maybe (that’s a real maybe) part of your being stressed stems from an idea you have about how you must be at get togethers, and you must overcome all the hurdles, and you must put in the effort because who else is going to and you are this backbone figure. I mean, it could be that’s really the case and your family would fall apart if you relaxed even a little, but I invite you to consider the possibilities.

Damn, that sounded sarcastic. I don’t mean to be sarcastic. Some families do revolve around a backbone figure, and I don’t know if that’s yours. It could also be that it’s just really important to you to be at that party, in which case all you need to do is talk to your family about giving notice for big get togethers. Because you almost didn’t make it.

Good luck.