Dear Abby: My neighbor says being gay is a sin as it has posed a family conflict
DEAR ABBY: My next-door neighbors are appropriately friendly, mow their lawn and generally mind their own business.The husband is a leader in a fundamentalist church whose pastor preaches that being gay is a sin and transgender people are mentally ill.
My wife and I are lesbians, and our middle child is transgender.This is obvious to anyone who has met us.Our third child is the same age as the neighbors’ daughter, and they play outside sometimes.
Her mom has started asking if my daughter can come over to their house.I’m looking for a kind way to let her know that playdates are not an option.
I respect their family’s right to have values different from mine, but I don’t think it’s emotionally safe for my kid to be over there.Similarly, my house is too queer-friendly for me to feel comfortable hosting a conservative neighbor’s kid here.
How do I give a blanket “no” to visits while remaining cordial neighbors? — THE LESBIAN NEXT DOORDEAR LESBIAN NEXT DOOR: I get the impression you and your neighbors are polite but not close, so there’s your reason: Tell her you aren’t comfortable letting your daughter spend time inside the home of someone you don’t know well.To improve this relationship, invite them over for dinner, perhaps a casual outdoor barbecue.If it turns out your two families are as incompatible as you suspect, your daughter will stop receiving playdate invitations.DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, “Dirk,” and I are in our late 50s.
We both are divorced, and we each have a single child over the age of 18.Every time Dirk and I go out for a nice dinner date, he either orders a meal “to go” to bring home for his son or purposely eats only half his dinner and brings the rest home for him.
I’ve told Dirk this is rude.It spoils the mood of having an intimate adult date.
His son is old enough to figure out how to feed himself.The problem is, Dirk won’t stop doing this, and it’s been going on for years.It took two years to finally ge...