Nothing Has To Be Wrong For Me To Call You

Whenever I reach out to someone I care about, whoever it may be, I ask the simple question of “Can I call you? Their immediate response is always, “Is everything okay? What’s wrong? My response is: nothing is wrong. I just want to talk to you.

If I am being honest, I am very guilty of doing this myself because I have a friend who rarely calls me. And when she does, it typically means something horrible has happened with her recently. She called, and I said, “What’s wrong?” She said nothing; I just wanted to talk. That’s it. 

I’ve noticed that I personally don’t ask to talk on the phone much. Because of the “are you okay/what’s wrong?” response I get constantly, so I don’t ask anymore. And it’s unfortunate for the people I care about. 

It all comes back to wanting to connect with those I care about, not just when things are good or bad, but also when it’s the middle of the week, and I want to catch up with my people and talk about what’s happening in our lives. It’s mainly because some of my people live across the country or have families and kids, and life gets busy.

Life gets busy, we all know that, and we’re all guilty of not staying in touch like we wish we could or should with people. But when someone you love loses a family member, a friend, or a partner, we reach out as soon as we can to check on them and support them however we can. We should remember to do that more often, not just when life becomes hard. 

The people you care about know you care all the time, and not only when things are tough. 

With texting, communication is much more convenient, so we are more comfortable using it. It’s faster, and there’s no awkwardness on the phone. That being said, if you text someone who matters to you, “Can I call you?” They might be thinking one of two things.

1. “What’s wrong?” It might make someone think that something bad happened. 

2. “Why can’t you just text me?” It’s easier 

Look, I get it. But there’s nothing like hearing your favorite people on the phone, actually catching up the old-fashioned way, not by text with no tone, etc.

I think, as a society, texting has done us a disservice: people can text whenever they need to talk to someone, thanks to how easy and convenient it is. When someone calls you, it can be a hassle, making you stop whatever you’re doing to answer. 

Here’s the thing: we only have one life, just one, that’s it. If someone you love texts, “Can I call you?” Let them call you; you have nothing to lose but regret when you’re older, that you didn’t call the people you love when you had the opportunity to do so. 

We like to think we have all the time in the world with our parents, siblings, and best friends. We give all the excuses in the world, but the sad and honest truth is that they can be here today, gone tomorrow. Life is fragile. 

Stop assuming the worst when you get the “can I call?” text and connect because you don’t know how many phone calls you have left with those who matter most to you. You’ll be grateful you did.

Featured image via Bruce Mars on Unsplash