OmegaMom has a fatal flaw: she finds it hard to say, "No." "No, I can't squeeze in that request of yours to build a dynamic logging site right now; I'm swamped with the transition from Financial System to SuperDuper Facility Maintenance System." "No, I can't wait until next month for that report; I need it now." "No, you may not have CheetOhs, you may have cheese or an apple or carrot sticks instead." Well, that last one I am becoming much more adept at. Having a preschooler in the house teaches you that saying "No" is sometimes much easier and quicker than you previously thought, and is, besides, a necessity or else you will end up having a three-foot-tall despot in the house. So there's this septic tank we've got, and it needs pumping. (Cute plumber dude, remember? The one who told me three times that "You need to get that tank pumped Real Soon Now.") So, as soon as CPD left the Omega Homestead, I popped on the phone and called a couple of septic tank pumping services and located one that said they could squeeze us in yesterday afternoon. If not then, then this morning. Yesterday afternoon came and went. OmegaDad and I held an early morning strategic meeting in which it was decided that he would stay home this morning to be here to show where the pump out was and to hand over a check when the deed was done. This morning came and went. OmegaDad called me at work and said he had to go to work himself. I gritted my teeth (not at him!), thinking of cancelling the pumping, planning to reschedule, and perhaps having time slip away until one morning we would wake up, awash in sewage, floating (odiferously) out to the highway. Bleah. So I pop my head in to my boss's office, announce that I am heading home to babysit the pumping operation, and leave. I get home. I wait. The phone rings. Pumping service dispatcher says, "Aw, Jeez, Ms. Omega, I don't know what happened, your work order got lost in the shuffle, and we're all scheduled up--can we reschedule your pumping for tomorrow?" OmegaMom, that paragon of indecisiveness, Wimp Extraordinaire, sat on the phone for a minute, speechless. I was envisioning rescheduling for tomorrow, and having the same thing happen again. And, almost without willing it, this is what emerged from my mouth: "No." There. That wasn't hard, now, was it? "Well! That came through loud and clear!" says the pumping service dispatcher. I ran through the I-was-home-yesterday, my-husband-was-home-this-morning, I-came-home-to-be-here routine, and explained that we could not reschedule. Woohoo. The pumpers have been and gone. We were not charged for labor due to the "inconvenience". I am an oak, standing strong against the wind. I am firm. Hear me roar. Just say "No."