Who Wants To Eat Bread Pudding?

So! I'm sure you all want to read about my continuing self-improvement efforts, right! Right! Sure! If you have to! Which you do!

The greatest sister in the world, suefunky, has passed on a thought that is my newest mantra: if you are planning to share a dessert with your dinner partner, and you say "Go ahead and order, I don't care"--you might not get the dessert you wanted. Or, as the mantra now goes: "If I don't ask, I won't get the chocolate."

Doesn't that just summarize the whole situation perfectly? Sure, I hate to assert myself, sure, I'm hopelessly blocked about asking for what I want or need--but hey! If I don't ask, I won't get the chocolate! And really, is there anything better than the chocolate choice? I'll answer that for you--no. Or, at best, rarely. Are other people going to offer me something better than what I want for myself? Again--rarely.

Or, as my therapist said--If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will. Which is true about being an adult, isn't it. I have the best vantage point for my needs and my desires and how to get them all met--so if I'm hiring the best person for the job, it would be MEEEE!

So, repeat after me:

"I'm sorry, that doesn't work for me."
"If I don't ask, I won't get the chocolate."

Repeat.