Dear LFTP: in-laws who take the leftovers home
- What's the rule of etiquette when in-laws bring dessert or wine and then take the leftovers home?
Dear LFTP letter: when the in-laws come for dinner they ask what to bring, are told 'nothing,' bring dessert or wine anyway, then take the uneaten dessert and uncorked wine home. The hosts side decisively with the in-laws — 'you're the jerk' — and call it a non-issue; the letter writer is inventing a transactional grievance instead of having a relationship. The 'secular answer' says commandeering leftovers is poor manners; the hosts concede the etiquette point but still find the complaint ridiculous. The segment ends with the joke plan to publish the show's own book of etiquette, 'Etiquette from the Path.'
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Dear LFTP: the mother-in-law moved in
- My mother-in-law moved in seven months ago and it’s been difficult — how can we sort this out?
The last letter comes from a wife whose mother-in-law moved in seven months ago with no boundaries, rising bills, unpaid prescriptions, and open disrespect.
From No. 604 · Rearview Mirror
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Dear LFTP: the single man and the holiday cliques
- Would it be wrong for the lonely single man to start declining holiday invitations?
The first Dear LFTP letter: a single man, happy with his life and plenty of friends and family, dreads the holidays — at Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings of 15 to 25 people,…
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Dear LFTP: the grandma, 'Libby,' and the weight comment
- Was I wrong to mention my concern about Libby's weight?
Mike reads the letter: she moved 2,000 miles to be near her daughter's family; granddaughter 'Libby' was diagnosed with a medical condition and put on weight.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Dear LFTP: the Mimi letter ('Call Me Hoopi')
- Is it wrong for a grandmother to be upset when her grandson's other grandmother claims the same nickname?
Mike reads the Dear LFTP letter: a grandmother whose two-year-old grandson calls her Mimi — but the other grandmother claimed Mimi for herself, and the daughter-in-law is annoyed and doesn't want 'mom mom' either.