DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who doesn't respect my time at all, and it's very frustrating. We will make plans to go out for dinner or an event together, which I will have been looking forward to all day, and she'll cancel on me an hour before we're supposed to leave. If she doesn't cancel, she will postpone for an hour. I find it incredibly disrespectful toward me because time and being timely is something that I value. I find it interesting that she doesn't respect my time since she gets very upset when people mess with hers. All these incidents keep piling up, and I feel like I might snap at her and say something that I regret soon. How do I approach having a conversation with her about this and avoid creating tension? We are both in our early 20s, and I have learned that people around my age don't like being confronted about topics like this. I consider her my best friend and don't want this to ruin our friendship. — Honor Time DEAR HONOR TIME: You are overdue for a face-to-face. Sit down with your friend and express to her how disappointed you are in how your interactions have been going recently. Explain how you look forward to activities that the two of you plan together and how jarring it is when she regularly cancels, postpones or delays plans that you have made together. Tell her that it isn't respectful of your time, and you do not appreciate it. Sure, she may not like that you are bringing this up, but you must.
