The candy is half-price the flowers are wilting, and in my inbox some sweet folks are a-jilting. My manuscript's growing, my brain needs a break, so time for some letters about hope and heartbreak.
Category: Overthinking It
#1391: “Anxious Coworker Is Triggering My Mothering Instinct”
When work says, "We're like a family here," they never mean a happy, functional family.
#1389: “I am taking over a course from a professor who died. How should I proceed?”
"Hello, I wouldn't be here if your actual professor hadn't died. Who's ready to LEARN?"
#1388: “A woman wants to bond with me over our shared history of an abusive man – and I’m struggling to be polite while also maintaining boundaries.”
Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is not your friend, and that's okay. Content note for mention (but not details) of past abusive relationships.
Should you stay or should you go?
Convert "What should I do?" questions to "How will I do the thing I'm most afraid of?" and see how you feel.
#1380: “He’s been playing games since I told him that I think he’s attractive.”
People* are in the mood for something with relatively low stakes, right?
*Me, I'm People
#1370: “I feel suffocated and want to move away from my stingy roommate.”
Nobody loves separating the books and dishtowels, but when it's time, it's time.
#1368: “The ethics of breaking up with someone when you live together and nothing is Glaringly Awful.”
If you need to go, go.
#1365: “I am being held hostage by the phone.”
When someone who can't say no and someone who won't take no for an answer become friends and form an awkward puzzle of dysfunction.
#1359: Sibling’s Christmas Decorations Are Making My Parents Break Down
The problem with ultimatums is sometimes people take you up on them.