Generous girlfriend is not welcomed by the family
Dear Miss Manners
:My girlfriend has done a lot for my family and me, but my family shows little enthusiasm for her. How can I get them to appreciate her more and to reciprocate what she has done? I live in fear of them attacking her or being cynical.
She has helped me get a job, gotten me a raise, written letters to my family, gotten me a huge discount on rent, given my family free food, etc.
Gentle Reader:
Your girlfriend seems to have an inordinate amount of influence over your career and financial status. Miss Manners is further struggling to see how many of these attributes could be reciprocated by your family, or how you made the leap to the possibility of them attacking her.
Is it possible that your family is (perhaps unfairly) reacting negatively based on past patterns, relationships or behavior? A solution might be this: “Kelsey is really trying to get to know you, and she is important to me. Please treat her kindly. I would like her to be around for a while.”
The subtle implication — that the family might be responsible for the fact that previous partners are no longer in the picture — will likely not be lost on them.
Dear Miss Manners:
I am cursed with terrible handwriting. Sometimes even I can’t read what I have written. When I try to write legibly, my writing looks like that of a 5-year-old. Which brings me to thank-you notes. If I hand-write them, they are illegible or ridiculous-looking. Is it acceptable to write my thank-you notes on the computer? It makes more sense, but feels wrong, though I don’t really know why. Well, I sort of do: because it seems impersonal. But is that reason enough to have to send bad handwritten notes?
Gentle Reader:
Or, as Miss Manners helpfully suggests, you could simply take efforts to make your handwriting less bad. You do not get an etiquette pass for an issue that is, at least partially, in your control.