Feel Like I'm Losing a Friend....

I have a friend who promises and never follows through. This time, it was a little more serious. Not life-threatening, but it still messed up my schedule, so I need to deal with this...

She said she would come over and help pack - or at least help me pack my stuff by directing me into the next area. I'm still pretty overwhelmed by all the junk I have!

So, I went about my morning, expecting to see her in the afternoon. I got home, and there was a message - she had an appointment that would take about 1 1/2 hours. OK, so I waited and just went about housework, nothing big. I called just before she was due to get out, to confirm that I was waiting and to call me when she was ready.

I never heard from her.

Now the thing about this is, I could have used the afternoon to do a big chore, like laundry, to pack my clothes, to pack the kitchen or whatever. But not hearing from her, I'm now behind my schedule. I waited. I hoped. I considered her and accommodated her. Not hearing from her was not considerate.

I don't expect the moon. I just expect to be kept in the loop. I have enough people not calling me back when I've called them. When I've made plans based on the assumption that they were involved - and they are the only other persons involved, it messes up my thinking and my schedule. I can do something else, if I know that person won't be involved.

This isn't the first time she's done this. I think that she genuinely wants to be friends, but she has a problem. It's called alcoholism. She's drinking on and off.

I'm afraid I'm losing her. I can't be her sponsor and her friend - she doesn't want that. I can't stop her from drinking. All I can do is try to be here for her. But I have to protect myself also. And right now, this type of behavior is very disruptive. I have enough going on without her behaviors.

I'm afraid I'll lose her before the dust settles.