Although Damon had ample time earlier in the month to complete the paper he is scheduled to present at a professional conference tomorrow morning, he repeatedly put off doing it  Damon could still get the paper ready in time, but only if he works on it all evening without interruption  However, his seven-year-old daughter' s tap-dance recital takes place this evening, and Damon had promised both to attend and to take his daughter and her friends out for ice cream afterward
Thus, because of his procrastination, Damon will be forced to choose between his professional and his family responsibilities
invoking sympathy for someone who finds himself in a dilemma in order to excuse that person's failure to meet all of his responsibilities