DEAR ABBY: My husband’s parents divorced 50 years ago when he was a newborn. Each remarried inside a number of years. My husband was raised by his mom and stepdad. His mother and father had little contact after their divorce. Due to that, my husband doesn’t have an in depth relationship together with his biological father, who made little effort to be in his life or the lifetime of our kids.
Recently, each of my husband’s stepparents passed away. After their passing, his mom and pa decided to get back together. They told us recently that they plan to remarry. My husband is having a tough time with their reunion. He feels they’re rebounding from the death of their spouses. How can he learn to simply accept a relationship he doesn’t agree with but ultimately has no control over? — HISTORY REPEATS IN THE SOUTH
DEAR HISTORY REPEATS: Unless his mother and biological father can resolve the problems that drove them apart in the primary place, their remarriage isn’t likely to achieve success. Suggest to your husband that he withhold judgment until he sees how the reunion works out. If he sees his mother is blissful, he must accept that although he and his birth father may never be close, this was her selection.
DEAR ABBY: Shortly after my daughter’s surgery, I got a text that I had received a food delivery gift from a friend. The text got here from the delivery service, with a photograph of the package sitting on the front door. The difficulty was, it wasn’t MY front door — the package had been delivered to the fallacious address.
What could be the polite option to address this? In fact I need to thank the gift-giver, but should I allow them to know I never actually got the gift? I’d feel bad having them put much more effort into their gift, as I do know those delivery services generally is a real hassle. And I wouldn’t expect them to purchase it again if, say, the food was redelivered accurately later, but cold. Thanks on your advice. — GIFT GONE IN ILLINOIS
DEAR GIFT GONE: Notify the delivery service of the screw-up. Then let your pals know you might be grateful for his or her thoughtfulness, but don’t need them charged for something that was misdelivered. They will probably want to dispute the charge on their bank card.
DEAR ABBY: My niece just had a baby. She’s going to marry a person who has two children. I might be sending money to her child on birthdays and Christmas. Should I do the identical for her husband’s children? — UNCLE J. IN MASSACHUSETTS
DEAR UNCLE J.: That will be a stunning gesture. Should you didn’t, it could cause resentment when the youngsters develop into sufficiently old to appreciate they were being treated as “lower than.”
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also often known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.