ArcaMax

However, you and this boyfriend of yours are not -- and never will be -- biological cousins. So -- your cousin-problem is not a problem. There is no biological risk, and it is not illegal to marry.

I do believe that you should continue to behave as if it is illegal, however. I only wish there were laws preventing teenagers from making huge decisions (marrying, having children) that will impact the rest of their lives in such profound ways.

Here is my advice to you moving forward:

Finish high school. Set out individual and personal goals (college, career, creative fulfillment), and do your very best to meet these goals.

Your reaction to this domestic awkwardness is to over-dramatize it and see it only through your own somewhat narrow lens. This tells me that you are a completely normal 16-year-old.

You are distressed by your mother's bold and premature choice, but you are doing the same thing. Of course, you can't control what your mother does, but you can take charge of your own life.

Enjoy this first love. But shelve all plans to marry until you are much older and know more clearly who you are and what you really want.

Dear Amy: I am the oldest of three (the only daughter). My dad has died, and my mom insists on having her own funeral service at "The Smith Funeral Home." This is a place that I would rather not give our business to.

My closest childhood friend is a funeral director at another funeral home and I would like to utilize her services, instead.

My mother's reason is that we have buried our grandparents and my dad from The Smith Funeral Home. My father also did business with them when he was alive.

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