Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

I just received an email from a childhood friend who was supposed to notarize an affidavit for the hearing in Texas.  They are doing it today, but when we met here I thought I'd made it clear how urgent it was, and I assumed they'd do it when they returned to Texas on the 27th.  I thought I stated everything politely but with ample explanation of why I needed the hearing.  Right speech is the combination of politeness, gratefulness and clarity, and somehow I got the mix wrong. 

When you ask a favor of someone, you are at the mercy of their timeline and priorities.  That's right and fair, but sometimes so frustrating.  I'd asked a friend to house a friend for my daughter's wedding, and last week I realized she thought she had not said yes, I had understood that she agreed, and in fact, she really didn't want to do it.  It was a big favor, but I assumed she felt she owed me a favor or two, and other than putting my friend up, I was not asking for meals or transportation or anything else.  Now I have to find someone else to take in my friend.  Either I heard wrong, misstated myself or, as sometimes happens, she really didn't like the idea but didn't know how to say no. 

This will keep happening to me throughout the wedding planning and the actual event.  I try to be prepared, but mostly what gets misunderstood is a surprise, something you're not expecting.  So I should expect surprises, adjustments at the last minute, and some begging and pleading to be necessary.  I'm terribly shy about asking for help, so the whole process is challenging for me.  I'm going to attempt to keep my sense of humor intact and remember the world won't end, and perfection cannot be achieved, no matter the effort.  My daughter is having to learn this as well, as I don't believe she realized how many details there are for a wedding and how relentlessly you have to keep on top of the process.  She was frazzled last night, and I felt bad for her and didn't sleep well, but this snowball is rolling downhill no matter what we do to slow it down.  At the end will be a lovely wedding and tears and joy.  But first, a bit of craziness and a dollop of frustration.