Call If You Need Anything

How many times have you heard this, or even said it? This phrase drives me nuts! I hear this phrase all the time from people I barely know. Here's an example.

Months after my septic system exploded in my basement while Gary was in Florida, I was talking to some women. First of all, I had not spoken to these women in 8 months. Somehow, my septic problem came up. One of the women was upset that I had not called them. Ummm, first of all, Gary did call her husband, and he was kind enough to mention that our home owner's insurance would probably cover a hotel stay. And, he was right. And, really, that was all the help we needed. We just needed a place to stay while the place was cleaned up. Okay, somewhere for the kids to go during the day while they were cleaning the place up, and I had to be here, would have been nice. After all, we had no water, and couldn't use the septic. But, I was okay with what I had.

But, really, why would I call someone I barely know if I need help? Why wouldn't I call someone I do know? If you really want to help, why don't you call and invite us over for dinner someday. That would alleviate loneliness for a couple hours. Or, if you're out, call and see if you can stop by for some tea. Seriously, how many people do you know who actually call if they need something. I'm not talking about your close friends who stop by and make sure everything is going okay and you can call and ask them to run to the store for some milk so you don't have to get your baby out. I'm talking about the people that you see once a year, usually for some family function, or work function.

Could people just stop saying this??????