Dear Abby: My husband is cleaning the house and its driving me crazy

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 59 years.As he has gotten older, he has less to do to keep himself busy, and he no longer drives due to Alzheimer’s.

He is now doing things inside the house without asking my opinion, including moving things around.Abby, as the woman of the house, this has always been my role.He is now trying to take over, which irritates me no end.

He washes every dirty dish even though the dishwasher is empty, and I have to watch him after I caught him washing them without soap a couple of times.Am I wrong? He has no social life anymore, and his doctor keeps suggesting he try the senior center, to no avail.

What can I do? — DOMESTIC ENGINEER IN CALIFORNIADEAR D.E.: Your husband may be trying to create order even as his organizational skills are diminishing.It would be wonderful if you could come up with some tasks he could do that don’t impinge on you.

(I’m thinking things like watering the plants, taking out the garbage, sorting the laundry.)Another thought: Why not take your doctor up on his idea and go with him to the senior center to see if it will be more palatable to your husband than going alone? It might alleviate his anxiety about going someplace where he isn’t known.If you contact the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org), you may be able to gather more suggestions about how to keep your husband occupied.DEAR ABBY: I have (or had) a friend I’ll call “Nick.” We were close once upon a time, but things fell apart over choices he made that hurt me deeply.

Everyone agreed it was his fault.We haven’t spoken in years because he blocked me online and in person — and last year, when we accidentally ran into each other, he told me to “go away.” He wasn’t angry or mean about it, just cold — like my presence was nothing to him anymore.He said there is no issue with me, but having me in his life isn’t good for him because of how things ended between us.Abby, as much as everyone tells me what happened ...