Dear Queenie,
I know someone who has a habit of correcting other people if they make a grammatical mistake or use a wrong word when they are talking.
Queenie, aren’t they being very rude? And should I say something about it?—Offended
Dear Offended,
If they are doing this in public when the other person is talking, yes, it is very rude.
To avoid being rude yourself, talk to them about it – tactfully! – in private, and hope they listen to what you have to say (without correcting any mistakes you may make, I hope!).
Dear Queenie,
My grown-up son lives with us and sometimes he brings his girlfriend to our house for a visit, but she spends the whole time in his room and never even speaks to us. Even if she stays the whole night she stays in the room she is sleeping in and he fixes her meals and they eat together in her room.
I don’t like the way she behaves toward us, but I don’t want to interfere in my son’s relationship.
Queenie, how can she be so rude, and what can we do?—Ignored parents
Dear Parents,
Your son’s girlfriend may be not so much rude as terribly shy, or she may never have been taught good manners.
Either way, you should talk to your son about this. Maybe he can help his girlfriend relate to you better.
Dear Queenie,
My husband had an affair with an old girlfriend from before we got married. When I found out he ended the affair and I forgave him, but he kept checking her out on Facebook, but she blocked him. He doesn’t know I know about that.
Queenie, should I talk to him about this?—Angry wife
Dear Wife,
The other woman seems to be trying to end the affair once and for all. That is your husband’s problem; do not let it become yours.
Insist that he go with you for professional marriage counselling. You both need to understand why he had an affair before both of you can get over it.
Dear Queenie,
My husband used to be healthy and active but now he is sick and it weakens him so he can’t do the things he used to do to keep busy and it makes him feel depressed.
He depends on me to keep him busy and I can hardly go out to run errands without him getting even more depressed. We can’t afford for him to go into a nursing home and he doesn’t have any family living near us.
I try to stay busy, but I feel trapped.
Queenie, what can I do?—Depressed wife
Dear Wife,
There are community organisations that offer services like district nursing and home visitation that could give you some relief. You could arrange with one or more of them for home visits for your husband, which would give him someone to socialise with besides you, and then you could use the time they give you to follow some interests of your own.
You could also talk to your husband’s doctor. There might be some medication he could prescribe to relieve both your husband’s physical and mental problems.
Dear Queenie,
How old do you have to be before your parents stop worrying about you?
I’m all grown up with grown-up children of my own and my parents still worry about everything I do like they did when I was a kid.
Queenie, how do I convince them that I’m just fine without them checking up on everything I do?—All grown up now
Dear All grown up,
Could it be that your parents are not as worried about you as they are concerned about what will happen to them if something bad happens to you? Try to be patient with them.
