Greetings, Abby Another family and I share a vacation house. Both my spouse and I are tidy individuals. The opposite is true for the other family. They promise to get to the dirty dishes, but they leave them in the sink for days.
Along with toys, clothing, and stale food, dirty diapers are left on the floor of the living room. It is repulsive.
Cleaning up after them has grown out of control, but my husband and I still do it. We have to spend hours cleaning up after our guests if we want to invite them around. Something needs to be done, but I don’t want to exacerbate tensions amongst families. How can we face them? IN PENNSYLVANIA, NEATNIK
Greetings, Natnik Unclean dishes are a pain. There is a health risk when dirty diapers are left on the floor of the living room. These slobs will not be changed by you.
You failed to specify if you own or rent this vacation house. Get out of there and sell your portion if you own it. Rethink your getaway selection if you rent, as this will make your trip anything but a vacation.
Stories by
Abigail Van Buren
-
Dear Abby: Special needs great-grandchild inspires 74-year-old to go back to school
-
Dear Abby: How do I stay strong and not go back to boyfriend who picked me apart?
-
Dear Abby: Is there anything I can do to stop my 85-year-old mom from trying to be my fashion twin?
Greetings, Abby I’m a woman with a number of medical conditions. I am currently confined to a wheelchair and require assistance with daily tasks due to a fall that occurred last year. My daughter, who is 36 years old, moved in with me after splitting from her fiancé. She works as my home attendant now.
According to my daughter, her two brothers ought to assist with my care as well. Both of them work. She shouldn’t expect them to do more, in my opinion, if she is living in my house for free and getting paid to look after me.
I go food shopping with them.
She wants them to clean the cat litter box, take out the trash, and come over. Is she correct? — IN NEW YORK AND NEEDING ASSISTANCE
DEAR I NEED ASSISTANCE: It’s possible that your daughter is helping you as best she can. Cleaning the cat litter box and taking out the garbage once a week would allow your sons to spend time with you and maybe give her an hour or so to take care of herself. That shouldn’t be too much to ask, in my opinion.
Abigail Van Buren, better known as Jeanne Phillips, is the author of Dear Abby. Her mother, Pauline Phillips, began the company. For more information, visit www.DearAbby.com or send an email to P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
