Dear Queenie,

My boyfriend is good to me but he doesn’t care about my grandchildren. He doesn’t talk to them or play with them when they come to visit me. He is good with them in public and he is good with other people’s kids, but he says he wants peace and quiet in the house. He has 2 children of his own and he doesn’t care if he only hears from them once or twice a year. No one comes to our house to visit and he doesn’t care about that either.

Queenie, should I stay with him?—Lonely girlfriend

Dear Lonely,

Make a list of all the things about your boyfriend that you love and another list of all the things about your boyfriend that bother you. When you compare the two lists you will have the answer to your question.

Dear Queenie,

A friend of mine and her boyfriend came to a party I had and spent the whole time they were there cuddling and kissing. Some of the other guests were so embarrassed that they got up and left before the party was over.

Queenie, should I say something to my friend about the way they behaved?—Offended

Dear Offended,

You can tell your friend that you think her boyfriend is a good guy, but mention that some of your other guests had left early because of the way she and her boyfriend were behaving, and hope she will understand what you are talking about.

Dear Queenie,

A couple of months ago my son told a friend of his that he would go with him to a certain event, but since then they have stopped being such good friends. Now the event is coming up and the ex-friend still expects my son to go with him, but my son doesn’t want to.

Queenie, does my son still have to go to that event with his ex-friend?—Unsocial Etty Ket

Dear Etty Ket,

Your son does not have to attend that event with his ex-friend, but he should let the ex-friend know as soon as possible so that the ex can find someone else to go with him.

Dear Queenie,

My father sent my daughter a gift for her birthday that arrived about a week before the day. A couple of days before the birthday he called to ask if it had arrived and how she had liked it. We hadn’t opened the package yet, we were waiting for the actual day, so we didn’t know yet what the gift was and we didn’t know what to tell him.

Queenie, did we do something wrong?—Gift Etty Ket

Dear Etty Ket,

As soon as the gift arrived you should have let your father know that you had received his package and were waiting for the actual birthday to open it.

Then, as soon as possible after her birthday, your daughter should have called to thank him or sent him a thank-you note.