Ask Amy: Flight or fight? These passengers choose both
I’m feeling much better now, but I’m a little unsure about how to pick up the pieces of these friendships.
Any suggestions?
– Distant
Dear Distant: I believe that your situation is likely extremely common, as many of us seem to have been in a state of torpor.
I prescribe … postcards!
Write out a sincere message. Here’s a start: “Dear Friend, I’m sending this postcard from my couch, where I seem to have spent the last year or so. I am so sorry that I seem to have fallen off the edge of the world, but I am emerging now. I hope you will forgive me for not being in touch, and I am crossing my fingers that you’ll still take my calls, so we can resume where we left off.
I’ve thought of you so often, and truly “wish you were here!”
Dear Amy: "Worried Dad" was concerned about his 9-year-old son because the boy's mother (Dad's ex), commented that he was "getting a belly.”
As a retired K-8 school nurse, I was keenly aware of the kids' body images during puberty. I’d like to remind people that this boy is near the prepubescent age when children often gain weight and become chubby before the growth spurt of puberty, after which they usually return to their more normal weight pattern.
This could be a teaching moment for the Dad, and a way to help his son feel OK.
Maybe an understanding dad will help bolster the son against mom's sharp tongue.
– Former School Nurse
Dear Nurse: I appreciate your insightful “diagnosis.” Thank you!
========
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
©2021 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
