Jeanne PhillipsDEAR ABBY: While out with my family, my sister-in-law was sitting relaxed in her chair, stretching her back and extending her stomach. Trying to make small talk, the waiter asked, “What’s the occasion? Are you pregnant?” Her husband went off. We all agree the question was stupid, but wasn’t her husband wrong? He embarrassed all of us. I don’t think there was any malicious intent on the part of the waiter. What’s your suggestion for a better way to handle a situation like this, so maybe I can get through to my brother? – LOST MY APPETITE IN GEORGIA
DEAR LOST: While I appreciate your brother’s desire to “protect” his wife, he accomplished nothing positive by creating a scene and embarrassing the family.
It’s time for “the family” to suggest he get professional help for his anger issues. If this is how he behaves in public, I shudder to imagine what he’s like in private.
DEAR ABBY: When my son was 9 he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He is now a college grad. Because I couldn’t fix his diabetes, I have tried to fix everything else in his life, and it hasn’t been pretty.
He was home for a visit the day his graduate school application was due. I bulldozed him into taking some punctuation advice on his letter of intent that turned out to be wrong. A few months later a rejection letter arrived, and I’m afraid my grammatical error caused it. I’m afraid his dreams were dashed because he trusted me. He doesn’t think the mistake had anything to do with the rejection, but I suspect he’s trying to protect my feelings because he’s such a nice person.