Day 376: Being Right

A misunderstanding.

In short, my friend had shown up somewhere thinking that I’d known that she was coming. I hadn’t, which meant that she had come without me being able to tell her that she wouldn’t be able to get in.

When we talked, I could tell that she was frustrated, which was totally understandable. But it felt like she was blaming me for what happened.

I experienced that seductive emotion, the harbinger of destruction: anger.

Heat in the face. Tightness in the chest. Tension throughout the body.

Phone in hand, I was tempted to play the ill-fated blame game and argue how it was her fault for not messaging me like she had said that she would.

But a simple question convinced me otherwise: Do I care more about being right or the relationship?

Of course.

I told her that I understood that this must feel frustrating, apologized about how our miscommunication caused it, and mentioned that we could be more explicit in our planning to avoid similar situations in the future.

She replied graciously, saying that she could’ve been clearer and that actually, the change of plans had worked out fine.

And just like that, everything was okay again.

Special thanks to Christina for helping me think clearly about this and not ruin a friendship in the process!