Sometimes your phone pings and there’s a message. You think you should answer it and then you decide not to. And then there’s another and another from someone else.

The problem with the ping is, once you answer it… the flood gates open so to speak. In this day and age, the ping means the beginning of a conversation. May be it’s a conversation you don’t want to have. But with time-stamps and activity reports, it’s so hard to avoid ignoring someone for too long.

I’m not trying to be condescending. Sometimes, you just need to be alone. Sometimes, I’m fine thanks…Hope you are too… should be sufficient. I feel guilty when I don’t answer. Although these days, I’m learning to avoid this feeling and answering messages on my own terms. I’m learning to politely say, I need to go or I’m in the middle of something. We can’t all be chatty all the time.

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