Harriette Cole: A special evening was ruined when she let a cute guy turn her head

DEAR HARRIETTE I m on a strict budget A lot has changed for me at home and at work and as a upshot I ve been socializing much less Related Articles Harriette Cole Should I forgive my mom and let her see the baby Harriette Cole I m appalled that my dad billed my mom for painting the rooms Harriette Cole Need-to-know lessons from a beautiful mother Harriette Cole The day care worker regretted her bad advice about my child Harriette Cole The bride thinks my wife will create drama at the wedding Last week was a close friend s birthday and I didn t want to miss out on celebrating her I reached out to an old colleague and he gave me four complimentary suite tickets to a concert I invited the birthday girl and two of our close friends She was so flattered When we got to the show one of the other friends noticed a guy checking her out and went over to talk to him She explained us to go ahead without her and she d meet us at our seats She never did At the end of the night she exhibited up telling us all about this cute kind stranger totally oblivious to the fact that the night was supposed to be in honor of one of our friends It really bothered me Despite my current personal struggles I demanded to give my friend a special evening meanwhile our other friend couldn t care less Part of me is peeved because I haven t spent time with my friends in a long time I went out of my way to create a fun evening for us and she didn t even bother to stay near us Am I being ridiculous here or should I say something Mates Before Dates DEAR MATES BEFORE DATES Was the birthday girl upset Is your friend known for straying You need to pause and assess your reaction to this situation Yes you could be overreacting Sure your friend should have been there with the group but it might not be so awful for her to hang out with a cool guy she met How do your other friends feel about it Before you ask reflect conscientiously on what happened What was the general feeling about the evening If everyone else had a great time let it go If they were also upset say something But you do need to accept that when you give a gift you give it freely with no expectation DEAR HARRIETTE I am struggling right now emotionally and financially My tenants haven t paid their rent in months I try to remain passive about it as I am relying on the legal system to settle this issue but my son is infuriated Every day we see our tenants get dressed head to work bring home groceries order takeout host guests and match nights and so much more They are rude to us when we cross paths They seem to have no shame about not paying and the more arrogant they are toward us the harder it is to temper my son s rage How can I get him to recognize how critical it is for him to get a handle on his demeanor I don t want to give anyone any reason to sympathize with or justify our tenants behavior Overstayed Welcome Related Articles Dear Abby My own kids tell me I need to get over my bad childhood It doesn t work like that Asking Eric I warned my daughter about taking a math class and she took it as an insult Harriette Cole Should I forgive my mom and let her see the baby Miss Manners I want to tell these parents that their children are at vulnerability Dear Abby After all those dates she says there s no spark Was I played DEAR OVERSTAYED WELCOME First you must be sure to provide formal written notice of the amount of rent that is overdue and give a deadline by which it must be paid Be sure to save copies of all correspondence you send them If they do not pay by the deadline consult a lawyer about how to initiate eviction proceedings If you do not want to go the eviction journey create a plan of attack Contact the police and document the crime your tenants are committing in not paying rent Get on the record Reach out to local media call the newspapers and TV and radio stations and out these people for the criminals they are Create a sincere social media blast that describes in detail what these people have been doing and what the impact has been on your lives Tag them on your posts Don t say anything that is untrue or that you cannot prove in development they attempt to retaliate Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams You can send questions toaskharriette harriettecole com or c o Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO