I pick up when my husband calls, if I can. Only if I'm in the middle of something and can't answer the phone do I let his calls go to voice mail.

i try to pick up every time my boyfriend calls me, only if i'm totally unable to or my cell is on 'buzz' and i don't hear it!

Of course unless I'm doing something like changing the litter or something that requires both hands...ha.

I try, but sometimes, when nature calls... LOL or other instances too.
I can always give him a call back as soon as I'm done doing whatever was necessary to be done.
Vice versa with him.

I always pick up if I can get to my phone in time, but if it goes to voice mail, I just call him right back. One time he was really making me mad because I was talking to him and he was watching TV and not answering me when I was asking him questions, so I hung up on him. Then he tried calling me back and I ignored him so he would get the point, lol.

hey DearSugar, I'm with a guy and I know lots of girls/women on this site are, but why do you assume all of our significant others are men?

Yep.

Yes.

When I run into a friend I ignore.

Just because I hate it when I run into someone and plan on having a short convo then they answer a call. It wastes my time.

If I'm furious with him (rarely, of course) I will wait and call him back when I've calmed down. I generally pick up but not when I'm in a meeting, having a conversation, or when I'm having dinner with people. I don't like to answer the phone during dinner, and it drives me nuts when he answers his when we are out to eat! I also hate talking on the phone on public transportation--I may pick up, but if I do, I generally say, "I will call you back later."

OK, so there are a lot of times when I won't answer! I feel like cell phones have made it OK to be rude. It's not OK to be rude!

I only let it go to VM if I am mad at him. Otherwise, I always answer

If I can I will but if I can't leave a message or I'll call him back when I can.

I pick up when my sweetie calls because it generally benefits me. Men never initiate calls unless they want something, and when they want something.........we get something.

Always. I don't really ignore anyones calls, and if I do its probably because I'm really busy or in a quiet place, and I call back.

I always pick up for the bf if I can. I'll never answer the call if I'm in the bathroom, though. I just feel too tacky, and people can totally tell by the echo. Learned that one the hard way.

@Mamasita, why do you assume all of Dear's readers are women or girls? Give her a break, she's just keeping it simple since almost all the readers here are women who are in straight relationships. I would get real tired of the pronoun game if it started showing up on every Dear post.

Yes I do .......

I try to pick up whenever someone calls me regardless of who it is. Sometimes I miss a call but I always try to return it unless its someone I don't want to talk to.

Yeppers.

I try. . .most of the time. But, sometimes I just don't feel like talking about what to make for dinner.

fair point, allyell. Dear's great, I just thought I'd bring up an alternative

I always pick up when he calls, unless I'm with other people -- its rude to sit on your phone in front of someone else!

I can never hear my phone, I always live my phone in the bottom of my purse in vibrate, people always complain about that. But If I heard it I will pick it up.

I always pick up when he calls! He doesn't call just to "chat" so I always know it's something important.

oh my god, half of the people who responded don't always pick up? i jump at it!

skigurl: don't feel bad, maybe he makes you jump. However to save face, don't jump, just powerwalk! Have a great day!

we are in a semi-long distance relationship so when he calls, i'm happy to talk to him and share our day....i just don't see why i'd ever not pick up, obviously if i'm talking to my boss or something important i woudln't pick up, and i don't keep my phone on me at the gym etc. but if i have my phone and he calls, why wouldn't i want to talk to him? i love him....?

we also have pretty set times when we talk, like sometimes after work and always before bed and we text a lot too...maybe some people feel the need to avoid? i really don't...?