Short Answers

By Jeff Johnson and Paula Forman

THE GIFT OF INDEPENDENCE

Dear Short Answers:
My son was just laid off at his job after only 6 months and he has hinted strongly that he would like to come back to live at home. But I don’t know if this is a good idea. There are few good jobs in the small town where we live and I don’t want him to waste his college education on something that is beneath him. On the other hand, his apartment is expensive and it will be tough for him to make ends meet and we can’t afford to send him money. On the other, other hand, I’m afraid that if we let him come back home, he’ll stay for years (he’s 28 years old). P.S. This is the 3rd job he’s been laid off from so I don’t know what that means.
Getting Worried

Dear GW:
It should be your son, not you who is worried about all of the above. It is time for him to figure out his life. A safety net provided by you only delays this very necessary process.

 

DIFFERENT STROKES

Dear Short Answers:
By the time you answer this question, it will be too late to do anything about my situation. But it may come up again so I thought I would ask. An old friend passed away after a long illness. I knew him well and know for a fact that he was not the least bit religious. If anything, he was anti-religious. But the funeral was held in a church just the same. It made me uncomfortable to go to a religious service for a person who would have hated it, so I skipped the service and went to the reception. My wife thought I was being rude and selfish and that funerals are for the living and I should have gone to show my friendship with this man. I thought that I did the morally correct thing. Was I right?
Wondering Still

Dear WS:
We think you did the right thing for you. You were neither rude nor selfish — nor was your wife who attended for her own reasons.

IT’S ABOUT POWER

Dear Short Answers:
I am engaged to be married to a man I dearly love. Every thing is perfect except for a few little things. He has a few bad habits that I am trying very hard to break him of. He has promised to quit doing them (like smoking) once we get married and has said that it will be his “wedding present to me.” Should I believe him or insist that he break these habits BEFORE we tie the knot?
Bride 2 Be

Dear B2B:
This seems like a dumb game. Of course we don’t support smoking (who does?) but bargaining over timing obscures the issue.

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Short Answers:
Now that flu season is in full swing, I see people everywhere who are coughing and hacking and blowing their noses. Is it wrong to tell people straight up (even strangers) that they should STAY AT HOME when they are sick with a contagious illness?
Not Phobic, Just Sensible

Dear Not:
Difficult for you to say face-to-face – but easy for us. STAY HOME WHEN YOU ARE SICK!

Life is complicated.  “Short Answers” isn’t.

Send a question about whatever is bothering you to [email protected] or go to www.shortanswers.net and a psychologist and sociologist will answer.  A selection of the best questions will be printed every week in KonkLife.

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