Jeanne PhillipsDEAR ABBY: My husband had a medical event that left him unable to drive. He is very isolated despite my efforts to keep him connected. His children live an hour away, and it’s up to me to drive him to them. They rarely call him. He has a stepdaughter who lives only a few miles from us. We reach out to her, but she also doesn’t have time for him. It’s ironic because she regularly ministers to strangers through her church while her stepfather languishes in loneliness.
How deeply appreciated an offer to take this lonely old gentleman shopping, for a drive, or giving him a visit or a weekly phone call would be. What else can I do about this? – FRUSTRATED IN FLORIDA
DEAR FRUSTRATED: I am sorry you didn’t mention how close your husband was to his children before the medical event. If they were close and have abandoned him, then shame on them.
I see no way for you to force them to make more of an effort to give their father the emotional support he needs. You can, however, depending upon how impaired he is, try to involve him in activities that don’t require being driven an hour away. If there’s a senior center near you, you might have more luck in keeping him less isolated if you reach out to them.
DEAR ABBY: A group of friends and I go out for dinner. When the check arrives, we all have cash except for one woman who wants to pay her share with a credit card. She claims she “doesn’t know how much she owes” and tells the waiter to use her credit card to pay her share. Abby, she then pays only for her food and beverage, no tax and no tip! I have told her in the past to bring cash, but she won’t.