{"id":7987,"date":"2026-08-30T08:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T08:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7987"},"modified":"2026-08-30T08:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T08:37:05","slug":"dear-abby-shes-getting-married-because-she-wants-an-after-work-companion-i-suggested-a-pet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7987","title":{"rendered":"Dear Abby: She’s getting married because she wants an after-work companion. I suggested a pet."},"content":{"rendered":"
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DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> One year ago, I convinced my daughter (64) to move here to Florida to be closer to me.<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: August 30, Thurgood Marshall confirmed as first Black Supreme Court justice<\/a><\/p>\n

I bought her a small mobile home to live in, and I don\u2019t charge her any rent. Before she moved down here from Minnesota, she agreed to pay the lot rent and her own utilities.<\/p>\n

Recently, she met a man and fell in love. She has been single and self-supporting for more than 20 years, but she says she\u2019s lonely and wants someone to talk to when she gets home from work. She thinks this man fits the bill. He is 60 and doesn\u2019t have a job, a car or a place to live.<\/p>\n

He has been staying with a friend for the entire two months she has known him. He has given her an engagement ring after two months, and they plan on marrying later this year.<\/p>\n

My daughter asked me if I\u2019m happy for her. When I told her if she is lonesome when she comes home from work, she should consider getting a pet, she laughed. I do not think two months is long enough.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, her fiance should at least have a job \u2014 and a car would be nice so she wouldn\u2019t have to take the bus to work every day. What should I tell her if she asks me if she should marry him?<\/p>\n

\u2014 CONCERNED MOM<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR CONCERNED MOM<\/strong>: She won\u2019t ask, because she knows she won\u2019t like the answer. However, if she does, give your honest opinion \u2014 and tell her that I share it.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

A legal union with this man who has nothing would be foolish and self-destructive. Instead of planning a wedding, his time and energy would be better spent looking for work.<\/p>\n

Read more Man killed after colliding with two parked cars in Antioch<\/a><\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY:<\/strong> I am receiving physical therapy at a center with a huge TV on the wall. It is on the entire time, playing stuff like sports and home improvement shows. I find it tedious, stressful and distracting.<\/p>\n

Importantly, due to my declining hearing, the TV makes it difficult to understand the young physical therapist I\u2019m working with. I have told her several times now that because of the background noise, I need her to face me, not the TV, so I can hear her. She tends to forget this fact. I have even asked about playing music instead of the TV, to no avail.<\/p>\n

I would go somewhere else, but this is the only place my insurance pays for. I dread going there because of this. Am I wrong to want a quiet environment in which to heal?<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 PEACEFUL IN FLORIDA<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR PEACEFUL<\/strong>: You are not wrong. Your physical therapist appears to have a listening problem. Rather than continue to complain to this employee, talk to the manager of the therapy center and explain the problem.<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY<\/strong>: This may seem like a silly question, but when filling out paperwork that asks if I am married, divorced or widowed, I\u2019m not sure what to put down. I was divorced, but then he died. Does it matter which answer I choose?<\/p>\n

\u2014 BEFUDDLED IN INDIANA<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR BEFUDDLED<\/strong>: This is not a silly question. It is one I have been asked before. The correct answer is that you are divorced. If your ex-husband remarried after your divorce, the woman he married is his widow.<\/p>\n

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren. For nearly four decades, Jeanne Phillips wrote the column, which was founded in 1956 by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 270135, Kansas City, MO 64127.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more San Jose Earthquakes end 4-game losing streak with 0-0 draw against Houston Dynamo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plus: How do I know if I’m divorced or widowed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Abby: She’s getting married because she wants an after-work companion. I suggested a pet. - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7987\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Abby: She’s getting married because she wants an after-work companion. 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