the give and take, when giving

There's an ironic sort of give and take when it comes do doing favors for someone.

As the favor DOER, there are (perhaps unfortunately) certain things expected of you. If you agree to do someone a favor, commit to it. Don't show up and then spend the whole time either:

1) Complaining about how you'd much rather not be there
2) Telling the Favored that they're REALLY going to OWE you...big time
3) Trying to jet out the back door at the earliest possible moment

This is when an attempt at doing something good becomes despoiled, and both parties end up unhappy with one another ("I was doing YOU a favor!" vs. "You make me wish I hadn't asked!").

As the FAVORED one, there are ALSO certain expectations. You're kind of expected to offer a little leeway to the Doer. If they ask if it's alright if they're a little late - yes, it's totally fine, thanks for showing up. If they choose which part of the shared work to do, you let them do that as well (because without them, you'd be doing ALL OF IT). And, if they stay the whole time, and give it their all, then if it's clear that they want to get out of there early, and you really don't need their help to finish up, then for heaven's sakes, LET THEM GO, and THANK them for their time.

Phew! It's hard doing favors!