Q. How can I be a good friend and still honor my own needs and limits?

I don't feel like I have had a real friendship with a childhood friend since we graduated college over a decade ago .

I have helped them out financially, but I'm exhausted by their constant texts.

I feel like a complete jerk who can’t even show up for one of my oldest friends who really, really needs people on their side.

Prudie 's next-door neighbor brought over some lawn chairs from his company.

She assumed they were leftover promo materials the neighbor didn't need.

She paid over $300 to ship the chairs back to him within two days and sent him a gift card to a nice restaurant as a congratulations and an apology.

Not the Bad Guy: Packing up the chairs without being 100 percent sure it was okay probably wasn't the best decision in the world.

But your neighbor made a much worse one by leaving valuable, urgently needed items unattended at someone else’s home.

Your strong reaction to this incident makes me wonder if you struggle with needing people to like you.