Dear Doctors: I started taking voice lessons from an instructor in her 30s who works with younger singers. I’m 72 and have COPD and asthma, and I am recovering from bronchitis. I can’t always reach the notes she thinks I should, and she says I give up too easily. Can I ask her to focus on the vocal range I already have, or is that copping out?
DEAR HARRIETTE: My adult daughters absolutely refuse to call or visit their father, and it’s become a constant point of tension in our family. I’m still married to him, and while they love me, they make it clear they want nothing to do with him. They grew up watching me handle almost everything in the household all while working full time. Meanwhile, their dad was emotionally distant and rarely helpful, and he often acted like any family responsibility was an inconvenience. Now that they’re older, they tell me that he’s selfish and that I deserve better. They insist I should divorce him and “start fresh,” but they don’t understand how complicated that feels at my age. I’ve spent decades with this man. I don’t want to be lonely, and I don’t want to divide the family even further, but the idea of starting over is overwhelming. At the same time, I’m tired of being stuck in the middle. My daughters think I’m making excuses for him, and my husband gets defensive whenever I bring up their feelings.
If you want to see why President Donald Trump is visiting Pennsylvania to talk about affordability, and why he is planning rallies on the topic around the country in coming weeks, just look at the simple question asked in the new Harvard CAPS Harris poll: “What would you say are the most important issues facing the country today?”
• There’s no need to buy shredded paper or gift-bag filler from a store when you can easily make your own. Older paper shredders are great for turning scrap paper or junk mail into filler. You can also invest in a pair of shredder scissors, which let you manually create long paper strips. Use the homemade paper fill to cushion fruit in gift baskets or to protect fragile items when shipping.
The perfect Lutheran hymn is “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You” for the weeks before Christmas, but shoppers will never hear it between Muzak versions of “Jingle Bells” and “White Christmas” in their local malls.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m a 75-year-old woman who has lived in the same charming walk-up apartment in New York City for more than 40 years.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My colleague has a tendency to be unapologetically late, and I can’t stand it! We’ve traveled together in the past for work, and I have seen firsthand how careless he can be with his time – even for work functions.
After two National Guard members were gunned down by an immigrant from Afghanistan, President Trump immediately seized on the shooting to escalate nativist fears of foreigners.
Ihate getting sick.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I go to a dog park weekly, and there’s one dog owner who keeps letting their dog jump all over me and my dog, even though I’ve repeatedly tried to set boundaries. I’ve politely asked them to control their dog, and I’ve even stepped in front of my dog to block the other dog when it gets too rough, but nothing seems to stick. Every time it happens, the dog owner laughs it off and says, “Oh, he’s just excited!” or “He doesn’t mean anything by it,” but I feel disrespected, and my dog seems stressed by the repeated interactions. What makes it worse is that the other regulars at the park also laugh it off, so I start to feel like I’m the one overreacting. I love going to the dog park, and I enjoy socializing, but this situation has made it stressful, and I’m starting to dread attending.