Dear Queenie,
When my mom wakes me up in the morning she pulls up the blinds and opens the windows all the way. I don’t mind the fresh air, but the sun shines right into my room and the bright light hurts my eyes.
I’ve asked her to set the blinds to keep out the light but she just won’t bother.
Queenie, how can I get her to understand?—Light-sensitive

Dear Light-sensitive,
I would be willing to bet that your mother does understand, but uses this as a way to keep you from going back to sleep. If it bothers you so much, make a habit of waking up before your mother comes to get you out of bed. Buy an alarm clock, if necessary, or set an alarm on your cell phone if it has that feature (most of them do, nowadays).
And, you might want to have your eyes checked by a doctor, possibly an eye specialist, to learn why you are so sensitive to light and/or if there has been any damage to your eyes.

Dear Queenie,
My wife is a different person when she drinks and when she sobers up she never remembers what she said and did while she was drunk. I have tried to tell her but she thinks I’m making it up to get her to quit drinking like I did a couple of years ago, because “misery loves company.”
Queenie, how can I get her to see the truth?—Sober husband

Dear husband,
Telling your wife what she has said and/or done while she was drunk is not enough. You will have to show her. These days, with so many electronic recording devices available, it should be possible to arrange to video-record one of her drunken episodes with full sound effects. Even your cell phone might be adequate for the task.
Hopefully, the shock of seeing herself as others see her will motivate her to stop. And if she needs more help than you alone can give her, refer her to Alcoholics Anonymous (for contact information, if you do not already have it, see Agenda, page 2 of this newspaper).

Dear Queenie,
There’s a couple my husband and I get together with all the time. Recently when he was away on business I had dinner at a restaurant with the other husband while his wife was busy at some meeting or other.
When I mentioned it to my husband he got mad and said I had no business having a date with another man, especially one who is married to a friend. I tried to tell him it wasn’t a date, just dinner with a friend but he says it just doesn’t look right.
Queenie, did I really do something wrong?—Confused

Dear Confused,
No, you did not do anything wrong, but because it upset your husband you might not want to do it again.
I wonder, did the other man’s wife know about your dinner with her husband? And if so, how does she feel about it? And, how would you feel if your husband went out to dinner with her (just her, not her husband) while you were otherwise occupied

Dear Queenie,
I’m divorced with kids in high school. There’s this man I see all the time at our kids’ sports games and we have chatted now and then and he knows I’m not married, but it has never gone beyond that.
Queenie, I would like to get to know him better. Would it be okay for me to suggest getting together some time away from the kids’ sports field?—Dating Etty Ket

Dear Etty Ket,
Are you absolutely certain this man is not married or in a committed relationship? He could be a stay-at-home dad, or work the night shift. Try to learn a little more about him, and if he is “available” it would be okay to suggest casually meeting up for coffee or even dinner. But if he is not interested, do not press the issue.