The Yes Man or Woman

I used to be the "Yes man". No, I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know if we are talking about the same thing.

I'm a nice person and I used to be nice to a fault. I would do things in the name of helping others, just to make them happy. I prided myself on being a good friend and I would do ridiculous things to keep that title.
Last year, my old roommate got married and asked me to be her bridesmaid. I said yes even though I was a broke college student who could barely afford the dress. Getting the dress wasn't even the problem. The problem arose on her wedding day. The wedding site was in the Poconos which was like 5 hours away from where we lived. I was not told this at the time that the invitation to be in her wedding was extended. Had I known this, I would've regretfully declined. (At the time I thought I was soo essential to the wedding, but in reality, it was easier to choose me than one of her other friends). At the time I didn't have a car and I had no idea how I was getting to the wedding, as the other bridesmaid lived an hour away and the MOH had no car either. Luckily the bride gave us a ride up to the Poconos, so that worked out great.

Around the time of her wedding, I was ridiculously broke. It was rent time and I was always barely making payment. Did I mention that I was paying the rent to her? We got to the Poconos and I asked about lunch because I was STARVING. I'm always starving but thats not the point. Turns out we had to provide lunch for ourselves, something else that I wasn't informed of. When I tell you I was barely making rent, I'm so serious. Buying lunch would make me short for rent. I hate asking other people for money but I asked one of the other bridesmaids. She didn't seem overly enthused but agreed. Already I felt like such an ass.

THEN, I had to find my own ride home from the wedding. This was difficult because we didn't have the same friends and many of the guests were staying up in the Poconos for the weekend, which cost another $30 that I did not have. I loved this girl and her wedding was beautiful but I was so aggravated...I said yes to a situation that I probably should've said no to.

I learned my lesson, right? No more "yes man". Its one thing to do things for others, but not to the point that it is seriously inconviencing me. My sis-in-law called and wanted me to babysit her twins. Immediately I said yes because I love those babies and I haven't seen them in a few weeks. I was supposed to watch them from 4 am-1 pm. I am off tomorrow and I said yes even though having babies over at 4 in the morning is a tricky thing and I love my sleep. Then she calls me back and wants me to sleep over because it would inconvenience them to wake up and drive to my apartment. But would it not inconvenience me to go stay at their house and feel uncomfortable all day? Its not like I'm getting paid for this, which I would never ask for. My fiance also didn't want me to go and when I told her that, she immediately criticized our relationship. No, my man does not run my life. We just enjoy our evenings together, since when is that  a bad thing?

I'm just venting. It really bugged me because I really wanted to babysit...at my apartment...