Dear Al A. Carte,
My closest “girlfriend” in our mid-life phase has a different circle of professional responsibilities and contacts from my own. As a result, she always asks me, the outsider to her career, to give her advice. In effect, she wants me to decide for her how she should handle the difficult people she works with. I am tired of dancing around politely and trying to dodge her request for advice.
Can I just tell her to grow up and handle her own work life?
Fed Up
Dear Fed Up,
Absolutely! If you are uncomfortable with the situation, tell her so. Just do it in a nICE way.
ICEd Mocha
2 cups strong brewed coffee, chilled
½ tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBL brown sugar
¾ cup low-fat milk
Crushed ice
Combine coffee, cocoa powder, brown sugar and milk in blender. Process well, and pour over crushed ice.
* * *
Tell her that you are there for her if she needs to vent. But she’ll have to figure out how to deal with these people on her own.
