I feel bad when I hesitate to accept a call from someone........

Now I am a talker, I like engaging in conversations over coffee or have a leisurely chat on the iPhone during the day at home. Yes, I am highly social and enjoy the company of others. But then there is Reg!

He is a a really nice friendly and pleasant man. But, there is one big issue, he talks non-stop, he dominates a conversation, he talks all night or he talks for an extra long time. I feel stuck!

Reg overtalks! He is an over talker! Reg is a friend of a family member. Yes, we inherited him!

I have a little feeling of guilt today. He rang yesterday afternoon when I was wee bit busy. My thinking was, It is Reg, do I have time to talk? Maybe there is a problem, he hasn't rang for ages, maybe he is asking about ..... Did I answer the call? Yes I did, it was the polite thing to do and found out that Reg was ringing to say hello and checking on how we were going. "It has been months since talking," says Reg.

And so it went for a while.

I have given this situation some thought and come up with some reasonable and hopefully polite options that don't hurt Reg's feelings or fill me with guilt.

• I could say, Oh Reg, so nice to hear from you but I am just about to .......... , I would love to chat but only have 15 minutes.
• Not accept the call and send a text later, sorry to miss your call.
• Ask my husband to give Reg a call.

Or should I just ask him upfront, "Anything up Reg, any reason for calling?" Is that too rude?



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Cheers

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