God damn. My father calls me, I say we're getting ready to go out to dinner, he says, "Oh, I won't keep you long," then stays on the phone for 52 minutes. FIFTY-TWO. (Tim was in the shower, so Dad wasn't slowing me down. Which is not the point. I don't know when my dad became worse at acknowledging and respecting boundaries than my mother did. And saying that is HUGE, because my mom doesn't think other people should have boundaries, and I am not kidding.)
I think my dad is responsible for my migraines. I'm not joking. Because my head went from okay to MASSIVE PAIN in those 52 minutes.
I don't get it, Tep. Can't you just say, "That was great, I have to go now."? I feel your pain, as my mom would keep me on the phone for an hour every night if she could, and I have had to learn to say goodbye and be REALLY firm, because she will pull the "Oh, just one more thing..." over and over and over. It usually takes three "I have to go" before I actually CAN go, but it does cut the time on the phone down from an hour to 20 minutes or so.
Scrappy's right. He's not going to respect your boundaries until you do.
Scrappy is wise. I have a few people in my life that just don't get it. And I had to realize that there was no way to change them, so I just have to keep repeating that I have to go, even if I have to be rude and interrupt saying it multiple times. I can imagine it is harder to do that if it is a parent.
sometimes my phone "loses connection" during obnoxiously long calls when i've tried to end the call politely to no avail.
eta: not the best plan, but in my passive aggressive way it's the only way to break mom out of a conversation rut.
Thankfully "Yeah, I gotta go now" seems to work for my family. And their lack of boundaries have gotten as far as coming and staying with me when I explicitly told them not to, so it's not like I'm Miss Clear Communication or anything. But it is easier to get off the phone than to not answer the door to an international plane flight.
I heard recently that if you hang up while you're talking, people will assume you've been cut off. Doesn't stop them from calling back, I guess.
repurposed drawers for mini raised beds
Yes, brilliant!
I know so many people for whom the words, "I have to get off the phone now" mean nothing. "Now" must translate to "as soon as you're done talking."
Ouch, I'm in a ton of pain tonight. All my joints are achier than normal. I don't know it if is from PT or the weather or what, but I don't like it.
My mom's a talker, too, so I'll use the "Oops, oven beeped/water's boiling/cat puked!" or "I'm gonna pee on the floor - gotta go!"
I have had the stomach flu. And I spent the time not, er, attending to my urgent needs the last 3 days in revamping my resume.
My dream job has turned out to be like handsome womanizer -- pretty, spends lots of money on you, but treats you like shit and is always on the lookout for the next woman. I like the kids, the building is great, but I have never seen such a fear-filled, toxic workplace. Organization is a joke, support is nil...I'm so sad about it.
I might stay for another year if they offer to have me back, but since they have something like an 80% turnover rate in the upper school every year for the last 4 years (I'm not exaggerating -- they offer the weakest-ass PD I've EVER seen, and fire people in the first year if they don't meet target EOC) I am just not sure the 80+ workweeks are worth the stress for less than 40K. Hell, I don't know if it's be worth it for 80K.
Maybe it would be a little less stressful if I didn't come in mid-year, but even with the prep issues a summer of prep would take care of...I don't know. It's a nasty environment. Pretty on the outside, kind of rotten at the core. I'm sending out resumes.
