Bring rich boyfriend to traditional family dinner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2017 (3417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My boyfriend is a very sophisticated guy who comes from money, went to private schools and whose parents live in a mansion. I feel intimidated when I go there. Now he wants to meet my family and they are loud, funny, drink wine and eat a lot of fattening Italian meals around a big table. People swear and laugh a lot. It might be fun in a restaurant, but what is he going to think of my rude and noisy family?

— Feeling Embarrassed, Fort Rouge

Dear Feeling Embarrassed: He might think they’re great fun and a treat from quiet dinners in the mansion. At least give him a chance to experience your side of things and don’t judge ahead of time what he will think. If you’re going to be a couple, you have to be transparent about your backgrounds. It could be a fun blend for him. But what about the experience for you with his family? You matter too.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My old dog has been coming to haunt me in my dreams. He can speak to me in a kind of language I can understand, and he’s telling me ways to change my life. They make sense to me, but I feel like I’m going crazy listening to those messages. He’s not speaking words, but it’s more like telecommunication. I know what his mind is saying to my mind.

I don’t want to do what he’s telling me because it would mean I would have to give up drugs, go back to school and go talk to the love of my life, the girl I blew off because I thought she had cheated. A year later I found out she didn’t, but I was too ashamed and chicken to go see her. Do you think I’m going crazy?

Yesterday, an old grandmother told me that was my animal spirit guide, and I should listen to the dog or ignore him at my peril. Is this a bunch of stuff in my dreams that is just nonsense?

— Guilty Dreams, Downtown

Dear Guilty Dreams: Whatever it is, it seems to be wisdom coming your way from your sleeping subconscious. Why not go with it? The drugs will be hindering your life as they generally do, and everybody needs training, not necessarily university training. People need to find a way to get into work that pays decently and is suited to them.

As for your old love, go back and tell her you’re sorry you didn’t believe her and found out a year later how wrong you were. Be prepared for a blast and being told to move along, unless you’re lucky and she asks you to move back into her life. If that happens you must establish real trust this time.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I hear extraordinarily well. The other night I was at a movie and I could hear the people behind me talking and suddenly it became very interesting. It was somebody from my former job and he was talking about people I knew, so I kept one ear on that conversation before the movie started and learned a lot.

I kept quiet about it, but I now know who was doing whom in management at my former job, and a whole lot of other important dirty things.

I am dying to call up a few friends who still work there. What would be the harm in it, and wouldn’t they be amazed to know what’s really going on and who really has the reins of power? What do you think?

— Dying To Tell, Winnipeg

Dear Dying To Tell: This isn’t just idle chit-chat. It sounds like big gossip that could bring down the careers of different people. What if it isn’t true? You could seriously harm innocent people.

What if it is true? Is a crime being committed, such as dirty financial deals, politics to bring an innocent person down or firings that have nothing to do with the excuses people have been told? Then, maybe there would be good in telling the right people. But what if the people you were overhearing were talking a load of bull and it was all false information?

Because you’re no longer part of that organization, you might want to sit on this rather than spread it around, unless you find absolute proof and there’s a real need to tell somebody.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I woke up this morning and went outside for a walk with my dog. I was walking down the back lane that ends at some tracks and remembered when I used to work on the trains in the summer and the fun we had. Then I remembered this young woman I used to moon after: she was married, but we worked together and flirted a little. I went back home and just for fun pulled up Facebook, looked for her and there she was! I looked at her marital status and it said single. Should I get in touch with her?

— Itching To Contact Her, River Heights

Dear Itching To Contact Her: Why not? Maybe she liked you too, but was tied up at the time. If she doesn’t want to hear from you, she’ll blow you off in a hurry. Maybe you’ll have a little conversation back and forth, proceed to the phone and get together for drinks or dinner. You know each other from before so you don’t need to do the cautious coffee gig where you can run away after 15 minutes if you don’t like the look or the sound of the person.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

   Read full biography