Teacher considers housing former student
My brother-in-law calls at 5 a.m. when I am asleep, and at 10:30 p.m. when my husband is asleep.
They also have a knack for calling every single day to interrupt our dinner.
Short of changing our phone number, or filing a restraining order, is there anything we can do?
This is starting to affect our marriage.
-- Ringing in my Ear
Dear Ringing: A restraining order would not be useful in dealing with someone with dementia or other mental illness.
I'm assuming that you have a landline. One advantage of a cellphone is that you can turn the ringer off -- and still see calls as they come in. With a landline, you can physically unplug the phone, but I assume that you are nervous about doing this, in case there is an emergency. You might also be able to mute the ringer on a landline phone (depending on the brand of phone you have).
You should look into getting a low-cost cellphone. You can have calls forwarded to the cellphone from the landline, and that way you can silence the phone but still know if a call has come in.
Dear Amy: Thank you for the response to "Cold Turkey in Maryland," who chastised his relatives for starting their holiday dinner without them.
The person who is late bears the burden of their lateness, not the host of 20 other guests.
-- Been There
Dear Been There: Yes, you don't get to gripe if you are the one pulling in a half-hour late.
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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook.)
