Go meet high-school princess

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/06/2016 (3453 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Long ago and far away there lived a guy from a good family who thought he’d meet the love of his life, get married, have children and live happily ever after. I did meet the girl of my dreams in high school and we fell in love. In Grade 12 she told me she wasn’t looking for a prince at 17, and went off to university in another city and married some other prince. I heard through the grapevine they had three children and he drank too much.

I married a lesser princess in my mid-20s, and had children and a good life until she met another prince with a big business and money, and left me. She has got the kids under her roof and I see them twice a week, try to date other women and am quite lonely.

To my surprise, I opened Facebook this mornng and got a private message from the high-school princess who said she was now free and wanted to be friends again. I don’t know what to do. Should I agree to meet her for dinner, as she requested? Her marriage fell apart and she has moved back to Winnipeg to be closer to her family.

She broke my heart when she broke up with me in high school. Should I go anywhere near her?

— Curious but Cautious, Winnipeg

Dear Curious but Cautious: Yes, by all means, go! This is one of life’s big adventures you can’t miss. Good things can come of this. 1) Your curiosity will be appeased — failing to go will lead to months or years of wondering. 2) She may be a big disappointment, in which case you can lay that old heartache to rest. 3) She might be the same great person, but grown-up enough to handle a lasting relationship. So, meet her for that dinner ASAP and write back to tell us how it goes. I care, and my readers are just snoopy enough to want to know, too.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My family gets along fine up at the lake until it’s cold and rainy, and then, like a pack of restless cats, we start hissing and snarling at each other. There is too much energy under that little roof and nowhere to go with it. The girls are in their early teens and our boy is a bit older. They even get into pushing and shoving each other. I just hate it and want to drive home at the first sign of rain. Help!

— Terrified of Dark Clouds, Lake Winnipeg

Dear Terrified of Dark Clouds: Regular games of cards and scrabble won’t do. You need excitement, and that means competition resulting in prizes. You’ll need tournaments of different games that go on all day. Plus, you need a boisterous poker party that involves money, say nickles, so keep a jar of them at the ready and dole them out at the beginning of the game. If you have other friends at cabins nearby, get them involved. Invite a family or two over for a rainy-day barbecue and some charades. If this turns out to be a success, go for a talent contest the next rainy-day dinner party. Soon those rainy days will stop being scary.

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

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