Category: Manners Matter
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Manners Matter: Bosses Are Always Going to be Bosses
Dear Mary Pat, My daughter is disenchanted with her job and her boss. She’s been out of college for eight years now and is working in her field and makes a great living. I understand how hard it is to work and raise a daughter at the same time. Life has its challenges. Between her […]
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Manners Matter: Santa Needs to Hibernate
Dear Mary Pat, My neighbor still has their Christmas decorations up and it looks ridiculous. With the nice weather this past weekend, my wife and I spent a good portion of Saturday doing some spring clean up in the yard. We were really pleased with our progress, but the effect was ruined by our […]
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Manners Matter: Funeral Attendance Etiquette
Dear Mary Pat, My mom passed a couple of weeks ago and we had her funeral back in her hometown in Ohio. Mom was well loved and even though the occasion was very sad, my five siblings and I did enjoy being together (we are scattered all over the country and don’t get to […]
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Trivia: What’s Marky Mark’s Backing Band?
Question: What was the name of the backing band for Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg’s music persona from the 1990s)? Answer: The Funky Bunch
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Dear Mary Pat, My grandmother has been in a nursing home for just about a year and during the last several months, her personality has changed drastically. Mostly due to dementia, my once sweet, wonderful, caring granny is now belligerent and says terrible things in front of me and my children. My husband doesn’t […]
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Dear Mary Pat, I was very disheartened to see the way that some of my friends responded to Justice Scalia’s death on Facebook. I wasn’t a big fan of the man’s politics and views myself, but I certainly wasn’t celebrating his passing. I know that our country, and our community, is divided by political […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My friends and I went out to dinner to a restaurant we had never tried before. I asked if they had a certain kind of beer and the owner answered, rather condescendingly, “We don’t have that kind of beer since our customers like beer that has flavor.” I can’t stand that […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My daughter has been in Girl Scouts for three years now and each year she gives her all during cookie selling season. She sells on her own by going door-to-door (we go with her when she’s selling in the neighborhood) and picking up the phone and calling our out-of-town relatives and […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My husband has always been a good driver up until about six or seven months ago. In the 43 years we’ve been married, I would say he always had the tendency to go too fast versus too slow. He has done a complete about face and has become a total slow poke. […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My mom is nearing retirement and just gave her notice to her bosses (she has two). She has worked at this company for 25 years and she is well liked, even loved, by everyone in the office. Due to her generosity, she has given them a four-month window to find her replacement. […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My friend and I don’t share anything in common with our beliefs. When it comes to religion and politics, we are 100 percent opposite. That doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is the little digs that she makes at my expense, especially if there is an audience. We aren’t really […]
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Dear Mary Pat, What do you think of a friend who never has dinner parties or group gatherings at her house, to reciprocate, because she doesn’t want to get her house dirty? Signed, RELAX Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Dear RELAX, I think your friend might have some issues with perfectionism, or maybe she has OCD? […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My sister wants to get married on a Friday since it’s way more affordable. We keep trying to explain to her that some people might be late for the reception and most everyone will miss the church ceremony since it’s hard for guests to take off from work, or to get kids […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My girlfriend is really cheap. She hates to spend money. Her car has 289,000 miles on it and she will drive it till the wheels fall off. She bought the least expensive house she could find which needed a lot of repairs and will only work on the essentials. For the other […]
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Manners Matter: How to Behave at Work Holiday Party
Dear Mary Pat, I overindulged at my office party and not only did I wake up with a brutal hangover, I also can’t look certain co-workers in the eye. Some of the details are a little fuzzy, but I know I got into a political debate with my peer’s wife and may have also insulted […]
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By Mary Pat Dear Mary Pat, The holiday season is in full swing with Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas only weeks away. For Thanksgiving this year, my family went on a short trip. We all had off from jobs and school, and had a lovely time. Prior to the trip, we encountered a flurry of […]
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Dear Mary Pat, My brother’s best friend got married six months ago. I’ve known “Joe” for more than 25 years now. Joe and his fiancée were on a very tight budget and when they asked me to make their wedding cake to help save on cost, I was happy to do it. I’ve been baking […]
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Dear Mary Pat, I’ve always been into giving gifts. Big birthday gifts, little “just because gifts” and for Christmas…I was a gift giving fool. I had plans to do the same this holiday season until my hours got reduced at my job and my husband’s income slowed down to a mere trickle. How do I […]
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Manners Matter: Thanksgiving Dining Dilemma
by Mary Pat Dear Mary Pat, My mother-in-law has passed over the reigns to me for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m feeling a lot of pressure to cook for 23 people. She always made it look easy, but I know it won’t be for me. My mom passed away when I was young and I was never […]
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Manners Matter: Not Trying to Be Nosy
By Mary Pat Dear Mary Pat, I was checking out at the grocery store last weekend and noticed that the cashier had a cast on her hand and was struggling a little bit. She looked up at one point and I gave her a sympathetic smile and said, “Oh, what happened to your hand?” She […]