My incredibly loving mother-in-law is the cleanest person I know. Her house, car, clothes, and body are all spotless. When we had children she said: “Please don’t let them be dirty.” When I send the kids to visit, she asks me to “send good clothes.” Although my house is relatively organized by parents-of-young-children-standards and I have … Continue reading How Do I Get My Mother-In-Law To Stop Cleaning?

Thank you for your advice about smalltalk.  I have a follow-up  question. How do you politely disengage from small talk? I don’t mind chatting with a random stranger for a minute or two, but I don’t want to get stuck awkwardly trying to keep up a conversation with them for half an hour. And I have. It’s easier at parties … Continue reading How Do I Politely Exit A Conversation?

I was at a social function this weekend, surrounded by dear friends and their drunk spouses. Toward the end of the evening, I was followed out to the car by a drunk spouse, who wanted to tell me that he wanted to have sex with me (among other things). That’s not going to happen, but I’m not … Continue reading What Should I Do About My Friend’s Drunken Spouse Harassing Me??

My nephew is a wonderful young teen with autism.  He is an intelligent, interesting, and caring person, and his parents (with the support of the rest of us) are doing an outstanding job of getting him the therapies and assistance he needs to learn the stuff that’s less intuitive for his brain wiring than for mine. … Continue reading How Do I Get My Mom To Stop Mis-labeling My Autistic Nephew?