Dear Queenie,
My next-door neighbour has a habit of dropping in at all hours and staying it seems like forever. If she sees me in the yard she will come over to chat and if she doesn’t see me she will come knocking on the door “to see if I’m all right.”
I don’t mind for a few minutes but she stays and stays and stays and won’t take any hint that it’s time for her to go home. She even dropped in while our family was here on Christmas Day!
Queenie, how do we get rid of this unwanted visitor without being rude?—Desperate for privacy
Dear Desperate for privacy,
If someone is so rude as to outstay their welcome, it is not rude of you to say, “Sorry, we must ask you to leave now,” giving whatever excuse you choose, although none is required.
However, if your neighbour had no one to go to visit or to come to see her on Christmas Day, she must be lonely indeed! You don’t have to put up with her intrusiveness all the time, but a little patience now and then would surely win you points in heaven.
