Give Me an Answer

I'm not a demanding person.  However, I draw the line at being strung along indefinitely.  People don't want to commit to anything - especially an invitation to freely given hospitality.  For whatever reason, people find this type of invitation the easiest to dodge, hedge, ignore, and cancel without notice.

Once an invitation is accepted, there better be a damn good excuse other than being stuck in traffic or a Brady Bunch re-run to cancel.  You better be on your death bed...and your grandma's death bed does not count.  We've heard that one 1,000 times already. 

Ohhhhh, Quiet Rage sounds a bit cranky today.  Who peed in her Cheerios?

No, this is not a trap.  Accepting or declining an invitation is not a control issue on your life.  It's basic manners that escapes the vast majority of people.  In fact, I wish you would decline my invitation with a definite 'no' rather than accepting only to cancel at the last minute, bringing uninvited guests, or not showing up at all.  Good manners also dictate that the host may not inquire the reason for accepting or declining an invitation.  All we need is an answer one way or another - not your life story.

I'm trying to put together a holiday meal.  Only those who have done this can understand.  There is a lot to coordinate.  Dinner does not magically appear on the table with the wave of a magic wand.

I finally got snarky with the fence sitters who have not given me an answer.  I contacted them (as they never responded to my invitation anyway) to say that I'm sorry they won't be joining us as I did not hear one way or another and I ordered the turkey size for those who gave me the courtesy of a reply.  Time was running out and the matter could not wait. 

Shock waves ensued after.  What????  I could hear a pin drop on the other end of the phone.  Their silence was an exceedingly audible whine of,  "Now what???  Where am I going to go on Thanksgiving to get an awesome meal for free?  Everything is closed or the food tastes like crap!"