Friendship sometimes means stepping up, but it doesn’t always mean sacrificing everything.

One woman felt a responsibility to her former boss after he agreed to leave her his estate.

But when he made a personal request that was just too much for her, it tipped the fragile balance between self-preservation and duty.

Read on for the full story.

AITA For Setting Boundaries

I have a former boss that turned into a good friend.

I have known him almost 20 years.

Their good friendship is pretty much familial at this point.

Since he never was married and is not on good terms with his family, he made me the executor of his estate and I will be inheriting life insurance, property, etc.

I originally asked him to not leave me anything (money brings problems that I do not want) but he insisted.

She does her best to take the best care of him that she can.

Since I live close to him, I am usually the one that takes him to medical appointments.

I call him once a week to make sure everything is good.

But then he made a big request she wasn’t sure she could follow through on.

Recently, he had asked me to take him to a birthday party an hour away and I was unable to.

He is able to drive but is not comfortable driving long distances.

He got upset and basically told me that he needs to depend on me, etc.

She shares with him her reservations.

I told him I do not mind taking him to appointments but I cannot spend an entire Saturday or Sunday at a birthday party since I have my own things (family, house, etc.) to take care of.

Obviously, in emergencies I will be there, no question (and I have), but I draw the line at parties.

If it was a 1-3 hour thing, fine, but not all day.

To her, agreeing would mean sacrificing something important to her.

My main reason is because I barely have time during the week to spend with my kids and use my weekends as family time and to do things around the house, run errands, etc.

I do not want to spend this time with people I do not know.

AITA?

She stood firm on her boundaries, knowing her family and sanity came first.

His actions are actually very telling.

There are some things that money can’t buy.

This situation is pretty complicated.

This person is quite simply not their responsibility.

In the end, the choice to protect her own life was a necessary one.

Sometimes caring for yourself means saying no, even when it’s hard.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.