Of course, you should tell the children. If they finally come through, the children will be delighted and a little bit wiser. If this trip also turns to dust, they will be sad, and a lot wiser. Learning that people will disappoint at times and how to handle the disappointment constructively are both steps toward maturity.

There is nothing like fourteen bosses to make someone scream. In your shoes, I would request one member be the liaison between you and the board. Both sides should agree on the liaison choice.

Over time, though, I would stack the board with people who know, respect, and like me.

I would have second thoughts about a girl who cannot give a straight answer to the simple question: are you seeing someone? You might be a backup option, she might not know what she wants, and she might just enjoy the power of stringing someone along. 

Young girls like to feel their power. Dear Mrs Web in her younger days used to keep four, five, even six young men anxious…

If I were in your shoes, I would back off. If she is interested, she will follow, and be straightforward, too. Expect nothing less.

Well, You have to give him credit for wearing Christmas colors! This is something to sit down and discuss. I would be kind but straightforward. I think you need to tell him your family’s traditions and expectations about how people should dress at family gatherings.

Some people have not been taught (or are blazing their own trail…sigh!) that dressing up can be a sign of respect to others, respect for the occasion, and required for harmony in families. If he is just not used to dressing appropriately, help him pick out a couple of acceptable outfits (The navy blazer and gray pants combination goes everywhere.) and buy him beautiful ties. 

Tell him how handsome he is, men like hearing they are attractive, too! Also, tell him when he needs to dress and suggest an outfit. "This would be a great time to wear your brown tweed jacket…). You can do a lot to help him out if he wants to change.

Let me get this straight. You are having your second or third date with some guy you work with. You fancy yourself in "love" with him. You are planning to become sexually and emotionally intimate with someone because of your "feelings?" No commitment, no ring, no date, nothing?

You don’t know this man. You just know what you "think" he is and what you "want" him to be, which has little basis in reality. Whether his old girlfriend is in the picture or not, is not the biggest issue here. One way or another, you still don’t have much.

Instead, why don’t you get to know this man? Find out who he is.  Sex is an easy way to not really get to know another person. Instead, you are pretending intimacy with a stranger. Look at my Topics to Explore Before Marriage to find out what I mean by real intimacy.

Dear Mrs. Web was not born yesterday. I would not let your husband use your savings and your child’s education fund to help him make himself some "walking around money".  He seems to have an enormous sense of entitlement.

What puzzles Dear Mrs Web is how he ended up without any responsibilities in this marriage after four years of dating and two years of marriage? I  think that a strong marriage counselor will help you both. We usually get into holes that we, in some ways, dig ourselves.

One of my girls was thirty pounds at age seven months. I remember what a magnet she was for people who had their own issues about weight and size.  She is a big girl.

I have always run interference about her weight. When someone dwells on it, I briskly comment yes, she is healthy and strong. Subsequently, I take the time to point out an attractive feature, her eyes, her waist-length curly hair …then change the subject.

If they can't let the subject go when I change the subject (which, by the way, is how polite people show they do not want to discuss a topic further) I close the topic directly. I say, "She is healthy, perfect, and beautiful just the way she is. We love her very much. Let’s change the subject." If they persist, excuse yourself and take your daughter for a walk, or go help in the kitchen. You can always walk away.

When I run into a roadblock like this, I make an appointment with my local homeschooling specialist. The child, the specialist, and I work together on changing the curriculum.  

It sounds like your son is bored.  Perhaps he needs a courses more geared to his interests, or a few months in a work/study environment.  He may not be challenged and need college courses, either through a local college or through one of the tremendous distance learning programs now available.  There are also some very interesting net-based high school programs available. 

Brace yourself. Get on the plane with your family and go to the celebrations. You knew what you were getting into before you married her and this is part of the family package you helped create.

Find some part you can throw your energies into, for example take over the coordination of the food baskets. You need to find ways to fit in for the few days it entails each year.

Sometimes in order to show our love, we need to do things we don’t particularly like, and do them gracefully.

I certainly never would bring a situation of this nature up before or on a holiday. Like dinnertime, holiday conversations should be joy-filled and light, not heavy and accusatory. Let us make glorious Christmas memories.

Cologne is missing from a bathroom and your grandson is suspected without a shred of proof. A workman, a deliveryman, or cleaning people could have taken it. It could be misplaced and in your brother’s travel kit. I would not bring this up without any evidence.

Instead, guard this information. Keep your eye out for more of this kind of problem. When you have direct knowledge that your grandson is pilfering, I would address it first with him, privately, over coffee. Never underestimate the power of a caring adult in the life of a teenager.

The early signs of pregnancy are many and diverse depending upon the particular woman. Your best bet is to spend ten dollars and purchase an early pregnancy test at your local drugstore. It would certainly be worth the peace of mind.

The next question Dear Mrs Web will raise is "Why are you having sex when you clearly are not able to accept the possibility of babies in your life?" No birth control method is foolproof. Most work in the sixty to eighty per cent ranges. Which means over one year you have a twenty to forty percent chance of becoming pregnant. Realize that having sex entails a reasonable chance of making a baby.

Wrong or offensive to feed a hungry child? Of course not. Your son has an open and generous heart, which comes from your teaching and influence. Congratulations, you are raising a decent human being.

Teach him how to be casual and quiet about the extra food, "Hey Jeremy, Mom made an extra sandwich, want it?" Not all charity has to be tax-deductible or handled by the government.

If you both are committed to each other the two years will go by quickly and you will have a good foundation built for your marriage. In addition, in the fifties and sixties it was not unheard of for a couple to be married in college and helped through by both families. Visit my web page Topics to Explore Before Marriage  to help you both prepare for marriage.

I don’t think there is too much more you can do. Perhaps you can negotiate to build in some decompress time before school starts. I would bring it up before he buys the next set of tickets.

As much as you like your boyfriend and are attracted to him; it sounds like you are not ready to settle down into a relationship yet. This is quite normal. You seem to have a level head on your shoulders, high standards, and do not want to get in over your head.

Being attracted to someone does not necessarily mean you should date him. The time has to be right. In many places, girls find it important to be attached to guys in order to fit in.  More than one girl writing to me has told me she is unable to figure out what to think of, or how to feel or respond to her boyfriend. This is because she is nowhere near ready for the commitment and intensity of a relationship.

Your husband lied to you and took household money to a Las Vegas spree with his buddies. This is serious stuff. Don’t shoot him. Instead, sit down with him. Confront him with the evidence. The man sounds like he has a gambling problem. Tell him the marriage is in jeopardy. The both of you should begin marriage counseling immediately to sort this out and rebuild trust

Fifty cats!! My goodness! You could begin by stopping by her house and asking for one of her children’s telephone numbers. Tell her you need to contact him about a question that has come up. She probably will be happy to oblige. If she turns suspicious, it is probably time to call your town’s social services to see if they can help her

Should a mature, woman in her thirties be involved with an older adolescent boy? Frankly, May/Decembers rarely work out unless scads of money are involved. Then you are basically buying his company – and we all know what that is called.

Let us be serious here. Mature, deep, loving relationships require commitment, trust, compatibility, and a future. There isn’t a future here. Young men need to commit to preparing themselves for their future and future responsibilities. He should be focusing in school, and building his personality and character at this time, not playing house with someone whom could be his mother.

You sound as if you want to love and commit to a man who loves you deeply and well. In my opinion, I think it is time to let this go and find someone closer to you in age, interests, and maturity.