Reply to How to deal with parents & in-laws who just don't get that we're busy?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone else think "awwww" after reading the text from OP's dad?
OP, be honest with yourself. You really can't find time to return a text or email to your father? As in, can't find 2 minutes on your day to write a little friendly note to an elderly man who lives across country that you see once a year?
I have timed how long it took me to write this, and it's less than 2 minutes now. 
Maybe you need to take an honest assessment of what your priorities are, and admit he is not one of them instead of saying how busy you are.
If you really want to make an effort, here is an idea: set aside time every day at an " off" time, such as waiting in carpool line, when you climb into bed at night, maybe you have a weekly appointment or something that you sit in a waiting room for, pick up from kids activity, whatever, and dedicate that time, those few minutes, to your father [/quote]

But a 2-minute call isn't going to satisfy OP's dad -- read what he wrote; he's looking for an in-depth conversation.

I'm a bit phone-phobic myself (not saying that OP is), and I've realized one thing I don't like about phone calls is that I can get stuck on the phone for longer than I intended to, with no way to excuse myself without being awkward. It's almost worse when I'm talking with someone I like, because it's easy for the conversation to keep going for 45 minutes or an hour.

OP, the way I solved this with my own parents was to call them when I have a specific amount of time when I'm doing something that's compatible with a phone conversation -- in my case, it's a 20-minute walk to the Metro when I get off work. I've made that walk a zillion times, so I can give all my attention to the conversation, and that's enough time that my mom or dad and I can have a good talk, but I don't worry about getting stuck because I know I can say goodbye when I get to the Metro.

Maybe something similar would work for you? [/quote]

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