Dear Queenie,
A couple of years ago my wife got converted and started going to church every Sunday and holiday. I am not an atheist, but I’m not a religious person and I don’t go to church, and my wife knew this since before we got married, but she wants me to go with her.
I did go a couple of times, but I didn’t agree with what was preached in the sermon so I didn’t go again, but my wife still wants me to go to church with her.
Queenie, what do you think I should do?—Not a Church-Goer
Dear Not a Church-Goer,
Tell your wife you do not agree with the sermons and feel uncomfortable in church. You could go with her on big holidays and try to ignore what you do not agree with, but most of the time she should let you have some alone-time on Sundays while she is in church.
Dear Queenie,
I got tired of all the work I had to do serving food and cleaning up after the meal when I hosted a lot of people over the holidays. Often I think my guests would be willing to help but haven’t any idea what to do and I don’t have the time or energy to tell them.
Queenie, what do you suggest?—Worn-out hostess
Dear Hostess,
Another worn-out hostess I know wrote various tasks on slips of paper and gave a slip to each guest when they arrived. It worked for her and then she was not so worn-out.
Dear Queenie,
My husband gives me gifts on my birthdays and on Christmas, but not on Valentine’s Day. He says it was just made a holiday to get people to spend money.
Queenie, is he right?—Feeling neglected
Dear Feeling neglected,
Valentine’s Day was made a holiday to commemorate two men named Valentine who were executed by a Roman emperor on that day in different years. However, if feeling forced to give you a gift makes your husband feel bad, try to concentrate on everything else he does for you instead of what he does not do.
Dear Queenie,
In a small restaurant I go to, I noticed a sign that said not to bring in food from another place to eat it there.
Queenie, why do people do this? Isn’t this cheating the owners of the place where they eat?—Restaurant Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
Unless the person also purchases food or drink at the place where they eat, yes, it is an imposition on the proprietors of that place, who have to pay for things they use, like napkins, and for cleaning up after them.
As for why they do this, I have no idea, unless it is because the place where they obtained the food has no facilities for them to eat it there. I would suggest that they purchase their food at places where they can also eat it, or take it home to eat.
Dear Queenie,
My husband and I have been married for more than 20 years and we have 2 children together, plus 2 each from our previous marriages. We all get along very well and the children are all grown up now and also doing well except for my husband’s daughter.
She never got married, but she has two children from 2 different fathers and neither of the fathers pays her child support. My husband sends her money every month to pay her rent and utility bills and help buy groceries and he tries to hide this from me because he knows I object to it because she has a good job and gets a good salary. Even so, she is always asking us for financial help because she buys herself and her children lots of fancy toys and expensive clothes.
I keep telling my husband that his daughter will never learn how to manage her money better if Daddy keeps paying for things, but he just keeps sending her money.
Queenie, my husband and I would like to retire, but we don’t have enough savings. What do you suggest?—Fed-up stepmother
Dear Stepmother,
As usual, I suggest professional counselling for you and your husband – so he can learn a better way to help his daughter and you can figure out a better way to cope with this situation.
