Le Journal

Alabama faces the prospect of seeing rain, ice and maybe some snow over the weekend as a massive winter storm takes shape.

This is an opinion column.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Once a month, my grandmother hosts a group of friends at her house for a chat and an afternoon tea. She loves the company and the catch-up, as they are all older and can’t get out much, especially since COVID. I noticed one guest is very snippety and degrading to the rest of the group, but my grandmother says it isn’t her place to say anything. I noticed the group declining in numbers and coming up with reasons not to come. My grandmother is angry at her friends for not coming over. I gently hint that if someone is being rude, and the hostess does not ask them to be more mindful, then yes, people will stop coming. However, she tells me I am wrong and that a hostess doesn’t tell anyone to, in my generation’s words, “stay in their lane.” How can I get my grandmother to understand this before she loses the friends altogether?

Dear Eric: I’ve been with my husband for 25 years. Twenty of those years I spent being a mother and a grandmother and a full-time employee. I had a nervous breakdown after my second child passed away from illness and I wanted to move away, but not with my husband. He insisted on coming. But ultimately, I did not find another position and ended up retiring.