I’ve known my friend David (not his real name) for over twenty years, and we’ve always gotten along well. That’s probably, at least in part, due to the fact that we share a lot of common interests and values.

Lately, though, David has developed a habit that has been driving me slightly crazy. Whenever I suggest that we do something together or offer him an invitation of any kind, his response almost always is to tell me that he’ll let me know later whether or not this will work for him.

Well, “later” almost always turned out to be the day before the deadline, and even then, it almost always seemed that I was the one who had to initiate contact to remind him that I was still waiting to hear from him. Inevitably, David would apologize and provide explanations as to why he hadn’t contacted me sooner. He would usually tell me that he would love to accept my invitation but “something came up and I won’t be able to join you.”