Dear Captain, I am married to a wonderful, funny, smart man. We have an amazing two-year-old and I just found out that I am expecting again. Life is good, except that his normally-long-distance family is suddenly in the area (an hour’s drive away) and thus all the issues about my dislike of them that we …
boundaries
#830, #831 and #832: Boundaries and the power of “no!”
Three letter writers who need some help saying “nope!” and making it stick.
#773: Grandparents, visits, and boundaries
Dear Captain Awkward, A couple of weeks ago, I tried one of your scripts on my parents to ask them to stay in a hotel when they visit. My wife and I have a two-month old baby. Any house guests are disruptive, especially with a newborn in the house. But my parents are the most …
#731: Backseat drivers and boundaries and bridges-too-far
Hi Captain, I need to know if my boundaries are reasonable when dealing with my legally blind mother. She needs extra help while my dad is in the hospital. My job has mainly been to drive her around and help her with things she can’t see. I have two things that make that complicated. I’m …
#508 & #509: Friendship, Attachment Styles & Boundaries
This is the last day of the Summer Pledge Drive, where I post the links for making a (non-tax deductible) gift through PayPal or via Dwolla. Your generosity so far has been amazing and I am so humbled and pleased with the outpouring of support. A new computer will be within reach when this one goes. I …
#460: Boundaries are good, even if other people don’t enjoy it when you set them.
This is a very smart post on moving on and setting boundaries with an ex from Jenn Vicious at In Our Words: “There’s this thing that sometimes happens when people break up but still care about each other: they want to continue working on things that were problems in their relationship. Don’t do that. My …
#446 and #447: Aging, family, and boundaries
Dear Captain Awkward: I’m having a bit of trouble with my parents. To start off with, I’m in my mid-40s and have been living on my own since I was 19. My parents are in their late 60s. They’re both retired, but Dad has been volunteering his time at a local school to give him …
#353 & #354: Bathrooms, Butts, and Boundaries
Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s gelato-eating and gab session. The best part was sitting at the table and being able to identify who was there for the meetup by their 1) excellent fashion choices 2) friendly demeanor and 3) carrying-of-books. I’m sure we’ll do other Chicago-based events, though as a reminder, you don’t …
#329: My partner won’t set boundaries with his horrible family.
Dear Captain Awkward, I’m in a wonderful, 5-1/2 year relationship with a great guy. It’s not all sunshine and roses (what relationship is?) but we’ve built a solid, great thing based on mutual respect, and I’m 100% sure he’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with/meld my DNA with in …
#225: Restating boundaries with a clingy friend.
Ooh, ooh! Sweet Machine emailed me the perfect image to go with this question. Dear Captain, I have an issue concerning an impasse I’m having with a friend. Let me give you some context for said impasse. This friend of mine is a human I have known for years, we’ll call him Steve. Over that …