Dear Annie

the responsibilities and chores pretty evenly. Now, everything has fallen to me unless I beg my husband to help me (and even then he does the bare minimum and gets upset at me for interrupting him). Am I wrong here? What can I do? -- Overworked Wife

He’s your husband, not your child. You bring home 100% of the income and do the vast majority of chores. The chores that you don’t do, you delegate to him -- and delegating itself is a kind of chore. Where’s the balance in that?

Talk to your husband about finding at least a part-time job to supplement your income, to get him out of the house and into a healthier headspace. He might be experiencing some depression afer being laid off. However, keep quiet and your resentment will reach toxic levels. It’s imperative that you get back to feeling like his partner, not his parent -- and ASAP.

I am wondering: What is the polite way to get out of a conversation after running into a friend while out to dinner?

My husband and I are busy with our large family and many responsibilities, so we rarely go out. Going out to dinner together means we have to coordinate a night off and hire a sitter, etc. Frustratingly often, when we go out for one of these semirare date nights, we see someone we know while eating dinner. Without fail, they want to stay and visit. And a couple times they have even sat down with us and stayed for their meal (date canceled) We’ve tried going to out-oftown restaurants and even dropping strong hints, but they don’t get it. This also happens when we have a special family meal out, like for a birthday. Short of hiding under the table, what should we do? -- Wish I Had a Table for Two

Forget dropping hints. Exchange brief pleasantries, but then be direct. There’s no shame in simply saying, “Well, we’re on our date night!” You can inject some humor, if that’s your style -- e.g., “Great running into you, but I’ve got a hot date here.” Anyone who matters won’t mind.