Reckless behavior merits sister’s intervention

Dear Abby: My middleaged sister is 12 months into a midlife crisis. She has divorced her husband and abdicated her role as a mother, preferring instead to be a buddy to her teenage sons. She has started sleeping around, smoking pot and drinking — a lot.

When she does take our calls, she lies about what she’s doing. Needless to say, our family is concerned about her atypical behavior, but we’ve held our tongues.

I’m unsure whether confronting her about her behavior would help or hurt her. I love my younger sister and always will, but I have lost a lot of respect for her, and our relationship has been damaged.

Should I tell her I know she is acting reckless and being dishonest? Hurting in the South

Dear Helping or Hurting: Yes! By remaining silent you are enabling her to continue.

Dear Abby: When is it appropriate to correct someone’s spelling and punctuation errors?

Our pastor writes a message in our church’s monthly newsletter and invariably makes several grammar or spelling mistakes. The church secretary also makes mistakes in our weekly bulletin and never catches the pastor’s errors.

In addition, the day- care personnel at our church make mistakes in the written lessons for the children.

I have offered to proofread for our pastor and secretary, but they never take me up on my offer.

I grew up in a time when accuracy mattered, but nowadays many folks think that if one can make oneself understood, that is good enough. I’m interested in what you would advise.

You were kind to volunteer to edit the bulletins and newsletters, but you can’t force the pastor and church secretary to accept your generous offer.

However, because young children model the behavior of the adults around them, I would suggest that parents remove the poorly written day-care lessons from any program.