“Sorry, busy lang” (Sorry, I am just busy)

October 25th, 2008 by Sexy Mom · Viewed 2233 times · 9 Comments

How many times in the past have you (or I, for that matter) have said the words, “sorry, busy lang” (sorry, I am just busy), when faced with a situation or question “can we talk?” or “why have you not been communicating lately?”, or something to that effect.

Or told the same to a son, daughter, a parent, a friend, or a colleague wanting to talk, want some attention, or just a little bit of our time?

What can it mean?

“Sorry, busy lang” can mean many different things, particularly with us Filipinos, who are not as open as our western counterparts. Remember my post on Ingat–just what does it mean?

It can mean that we are truly busy, and “please can we speak later? The moment I am free from what I am doing, I will get back to you.” Most of the time, we call back, but sometimes we forget, and continue being busy.

It could mean buying time—like when we have obligations to fulfill and we are not ready yet, for the other party to please wait.

Or, it could that we are in a particular situation that we cannot handle at the moment, and again, we need some time to reflect, keeping the other party guessing, sometimes hurt, angry, perplexed–unnecessary, don’t you think so?

For one, it can be an alibi of not wanting to talk with the other person. It may mean simply finishing off the discussion and saying, good bye, without having to appear blunt.

Still for others, it can mean, “Good riddance, I hope you get the message”.

In extreme cases…

A person to whom you owe a lot of money would already have filed charges in court (lol).

A weak of heart would have climbed the billboard and feigned the whole world was against him or her to catch attention, or wanted to jump out of a high building (we have seen this happen in real life).

Or your boss would have given the promotion to another colleague, having the impression that your perennial “busy-ness” meant sheer inefficiency.

Before it is too late…

Let us re-think about what we really mean when we say “sorry, busy lang”, so that we do not give the wrong signal to the other party, so that we do not hurt people or our loved ones unnecessarily. For once, let us be true to ourselves and say what we really mean.

A child may be wary of hearing the word “sorry, busy lang” from us parents, before we know it, the child would have been full of indifference in his or her heart.

A friend would already have given up on us, and sought friendship elsewhere. It could be a great loss, for true friends are not easy to find.

A parent would have been so hurt and full of “tampo”, that he or she would have felt self-pity and stopped calling or being in touch.

An office mate could have felt snubbed, and decided to snub in return, at worse, talk behind your back.

A wife (or husband) could have been so alienated and suspected that the other has stopped caring, and relationship in the home front starts being strained.

Before it is too late, when we are ready to open up, or to say that we have the time, are no longer busy, or know what we really want in life, God forbid–let it not be that we would have already been alone and the other party (the child, the parent, the friend) have already gone on his or her own, and we are weary and old, and it would be our turn to seek for attention, and hear the words, “sorry, busy lang”.

How about you, do you often say “sorry, busy lang”? What does it mean to you when you say “sorry, busy lang”? or when you are the recipient of these words, how does it feel?

Happy weekend, folks!

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Tags: LIFE · Parenting and Family · Thoughts

9 responses so far ↓

chiara // Oct 25, 2008 at 9:09 am

no, i don’t say “sorry busy lang.” i say, “sige, bye” hahaha

and most often people say that they want the truth said to their face, na ayaw nila ng plastikan. pero pag sinabi mo yung totoo, they can’t handle it.
Sidney // Oct 26, 2008 at 10:51 am

No… never.

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you dad
You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home dad?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw”, I said “Not today
I got a lot to do”, he said, “That’s ok”
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head and said with a smile
“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job’s a hassle and kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you”

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you coming home son?
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son
You know we’ll have a good time then
Nica Mandigma // Oct 26, 2008 at 1:15 pm

I don’t actually say sorry, i’m busy. Why should I be sorry when I’m busy?! I tell them ‘sensya, busy ako eh. Later.” That way they’ll know they’ll hear from me soon.
amymd // Oct 26, 2008 at 1:49 pm

I don’t say “sorry, busy lang” because I hate hearing it from anybody. No matter how short, I make sure I give a bit of my time.
Rach (Heart of Rachel) // Oct 27, 2008 at 8:14 am

This is a good post. Sometimes life gets so busy that we don’t realize that we’ve momentarily set aside the important people in our lives.
vk // Oct 27, 2008 at 8:49 pm

Ako, kung pwede lang ayoko magsabi na, “sorry, pwede ba babalik akong tawag sa iyo, bc lang”….

kasi, ayoko sabihin din ito sa akin………pero may time talaga na busy tayo,
totoong wla oras or maraming appointments.

tapos kung may time naman, makalimutan or anything happen or hindi na tama sa time na tumawag.

pero, kahit na anong kabusyhan, kung may gusto talaga, diba babalik ng contact?

saka yon, sabihin hindi pwede kasi bc or walang oras………

may oras kahit anong ka bc….kung talagang gusto at importante, hindi ba?……….

Dine, thnks for sharing this post ha?
haze // Oct 28, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Well everyone of us has to prioritize things in life ! Ako rin tita busy kasi lapit ko ng makita ang aking inang bayan !!! Yohoooo !! But being busy doesn’t mean that we care less di po ba ?!
julie // Oct 30, 2008 at 8:37 am

Prioritizing tasks should be done along with organizing time to do what needs to be done. Kapag ganyan, we can make time for the most important part of our lives: our family and ourselves too.
I am Alive! Praise God! | The D Spot // May 26, 2009 at 8:08 am

[...] By thanking the good Lord for all the wonderful blessings He has bestowed to me and my family. By giving more time to family and friends. And embracing the challenges, even the frustrations and failures that come every now and then. [...]

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