My word is my bond - if I say I am going to do something, I move heaven and earth to get it done.
Of course, I totally understand that there may be last minute occurrences, like illness, that mean things do have to be rearranged or cancelled at the last minute, so I do understand that sometimes, plans have to change.
...And, like I said, my word is my bond, so if I have committed to doing something or being somewhere, I do my absolute best to do it...or I don't commit in the first place!
This has happened a number of times recently, so maybe I am more aware of it than usual. Maybe this is a value of mine and so maybe, I overreact when others, who have made a commitment, think its absolutely fine to cancel because they have given us a week's notice or maybe even a month's notice.
I personally think its all too easy to cancel things nowadays and people no longer give due consideration to the consequences of backing out of a commitment. I feel like I am being harsh and less than compassionate - after all, people have lives to live and things do get in the way of prior commitments...
Yet, consider those consequences for a moment:
What about the bookings that may have been made, the costs incurred, the people turned away, the arrangements and plans that have been put in place, because we have assumed that people will do what they have said they will do. We could have said yes to other people; we could have saved money by not booking places or incurring costs; we may now have to find replacements, which takes more time than we now have!
Committing to something without really being committed to it might have unintended consequences - so I will thinking even more carefully in future before I commit to something. After all, an honest 'no' now is better than a half hearted 'yes'...which might mean 'yes for now, unless I get a better offer or its raining or there is something good on TV'!