Wife keeping her trimmed fingernails
DEAR ABBY: My wife has always been well groomed, with an obsessive interest in her fingernails and toenails. Every three or four days, she spends an hour trimming them.
Recently, I dis- covered that she has been keeping the nail trimmings. She actually has three large plastic containers full. When I confronted her, she claimed it soothes her to see her “collection.” Now she has begun openly displaying them inside a glass table lamp.
I’m afraid she needs professional help. What do you think I should do? — NAILING IT
DEAR NAILING: Your wife appears to suffer from a form of OCD — a hoarding disorder. Are nail clippings the only items she can’t let go of? Overcoming her compulsion may take professional help and possibly medication. Start by discussing this with your doctor. In the meantime, because her display
bothers you, ask her to keep the lamp in a less conspicuous place.
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I just bought our first home. It’s in a very nice neighborhood, and the neighbors seem friendly. There’s just one problem. My son, “Abner” — who will soon be 3 — goes to bed between 8 and 9 o’clock, and that’s when our neighbor decides it’s time to mow his grass. Getting Abner to sleep becomes difficult because the man mows right outside our son’s window.
Initially, I didn’t think it was a big deal because the first time he woke Abner up, my son had gone to bed at an unusually early time for him. But last night it happened when Abner went to bed later than his normal bedtime.
We have talked to our neighbors a few times in general. But since we’re new to the neighborhood, I don’t want to cause problems. I don’t know the man’s schedule, but would it be out of line to ask him to mow earlier in the evening? — BEDTIME IN ILLINOIS