Dear Queenie,
My wife and her sister are very close and always seem to be together or talking to each other on the phone. We don’t ever seem to get any time alone together, because her sister always seems to be there or to show up soon after we start. It gets to be so much that when she stays overnight with us sometimes I wonder why she isn’t there sleeping with us in our bed!
Queenie, am I making too much of this like my wife says or is this just too much togetherness?—Three’s a crowd
Dear Crowded,
Are these sisters perhaps twins? Twins often do seem to have a special bond.
That said, you are not making too much of this. There is a reason the marriage vows include the phrase “forsaking all others.”
Your wife should not have to give up her sister’s company altogether, but she should be willing to schedule a reasonable amount of “alone time” for just the two of you.
Dear Queenie,
My husband won’t eat anything but dairy products, bread and pasta. He eats cheese and drinks milk, which are healthy enough, but he won’t eat meat or even try fruits or vegetables or any new dish I offer him
Up to now I have managed by making meals that include both the things he will eat and the healthy things I want – he eats the things he likes and leaves the rest. But now we have a baby and I am afraid he will follow his father’s example and grow up to be a picky eater. I worry about his health and his father’s.
Queenie, what do you suggest I do?—Worried mother
Dear Mother,
For the time being you can arrange for your child to eat at a different time than you and your husband, so he does not have a chance to follow his father’s example. You also should consult your family doctor, and maybe a nutritionist, to learn just what elements are necessary for a healthy diet.
There also are cookbooks that specialise in including healthy ingredients in foods for picky eaters, like soups, spaghetti sauces and even desserts.
Finally, your doctor can recommend vitamin supplements – some of which you might even be able to sneak into the picky eaters’ foods, if necessary.
Dear Queenie,
I am recently divorced from my (ex-)husband. There’s this couple we were friends with and used to go out with regularly and I have developed feelings for the husband.
Queenie, how do I go about breaking them up and getting together with him?—Lonely divorcee
Dear Lonely,
Obviously you do not read my column regularly. If you think I will advise you how to interfere in someone else’s relationship you have another think coming!
My answer to you is: YOU DO NOT DO WHAT YOU ARE ASKING ME ABOUT!!! If you are so lonely, start looking around for someone who is not otherwise attached.
Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend can’t seem to do anything without talking it over with his older sister – manage his finances, getting a pet, making a doctor appointment, how things are going at work, etc., etc. etc. She even covers for him when he has a problem, like a bank overdraft or late filing a tax return.
He never talks to me about these things, even when I try to have a conversation with him about one of them. Then if I complain that he is ignoring me he says I am making a big thing out of nothing.
Queenie, he’s a grown man! Why can’t he handle things for himself?—Disgusted girlfriend
Dear Girlfriend,
Apparently your boyfriend has been relying on his sister for so long he never developed the habit of looking out for himself.
Aside from the question of competing with your boyfriend’s sister for his attention, you should be asking yourself if you really would rather have the hassle of taking care of this boy-man’s affairs for him instead of his sister. Or would you rather look for a boyfriend who is mature enough to look out for himself?
Dear Queenie,
After my husband died his brother and I comforted each other on our loss and after about a year we realized we had romantic feelings for each other and we began dating.
Queenie, is there anything wrong with this relationship?—Doubtful
Dear Doubtful,
The two of you are not related by blood, and no longer by marriage – there is good reason why marriage vows include the phrase “until death do us part.”
I wish both of you all the best.
