Saying No with gratitude

Sometimes when you have a tricky situation where you need to let someone down or say no to them. It is best done with proper gratitude. By proper gratitude what I mean is not just a glib thank you, but a properly meant way of thanking the person for something. To give you an example my birthday is coming up this weekend and I share it with my Mum. I love my Mum very much, and have enjoyed spending birthdays with her. I now have my own young family and my kids want to make it a special day for me. So I had to say thank you for inviting us for dinner but we are thinking of having a special day and go for dinner. When I plucked up the courage to say this to my parents it was by offering to come and help with my Dads' Sage. It made it a lot easier to say thank you but no thanks by having soemthing to offer in return. So when life is not easy, and you need the support of friends and family, it is easier on the occasions when you have to say no, by doing so with gratitude.