Family
373 conversations where the hosts get into family.
373 conversations
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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.
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Dear LFTP 2: unequal in-law cash gifts
- Am I petty for feeling less valued over unequal in-law cash gifts?
Mike reads the second letter: every year the writer's in-laws give cash to all children and spouses equally — except her, who gets half — while she hosts every celebration, visits weekly, and helps with repairs.
From No. 593 · Do You Hear What I Hear
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Dear LFTP 1: the brother's wedding
- Should the writer attend her brother's wedding after his cruel email?
Mike reads the letter: the writer's widowed brother is remarrying; their 89-year-old mother lives in his added-on apartment; his cruel email attacked the writer's facial expressions and mannerisms — "I felt like he had stuck a knife through my heart."
From No. 590 · Theodore Franco
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Dear LFTP 3: Mom's false teeth
- What should the family do with their late mother's false teeth?
Mike reads the letter: the family found their late mother's false teeth — creepy to keep, wrong to discard?
From No. 590 · Theodore Franco
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Dear LFTP 2: the wedding-weekend dinner gap
- Was it appropriate for wedding hosts to leave out-of-town guests on their own for Saturday dinner, and should we say something to the groom's family?
Ben reads a letter about an out-of-town wedding running Friday to Sunday where the bride's family told some invitees they were on their own for Saturday dinner.
From No. 588 · hypokritēs
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Dear LFTP: should I attend my murdered niece's funeral?
- Should I attend my murdered niece's funeral after thirty years of family estrangement?
Mike reads a letter from a woman estranged from her brother's family for thirty years whose niece was murdered by her husband in a murder-suicide.
From No. 587 · Coffee After Sunday
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Dear LFTP: the stolen college fund and telling the 90-year-olds
- Should I tell my 90-year-old parents that their grandson stole my granddaughter's college fund?
Ben hands to Mike, who reads a grandmother's letter: her son helped himself to the college money the great-grandparents set aside for her granddaughter; she fears telling her parents, in their nineties, could shock them into a stroke.
From No. 586 · Nothing Personal
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Dear LFTP: Champ the untrained dog and holding boundaries with your son
- How do I handle my son bringing his untrained dog Champ on our weekend grandson visits?
Mike reads the second letter: the writer hosts weekend grandson visits where her son Dennis brings Champ, an untrained destructive puppy that runs wild, barks, and digs.
From No. 586 · Nothing Personal
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Dear LFTP: the wedding gift with no thank-you
- Was I wrong to be hurt that my niece never acknowledged my wedding gift?
Mike reads a letter about a niece's wedding: the writer handed over cash instead of using the money tree and never got an acknowledgment.
From No. 585 · Split Ends | Interacting with other Denominations
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Dear LFTP: husband's slot-machine addiction and a lost life's savings
- How should an 80-something wife respond when her husband's slot-machine addiction gambled away everything?
A letter from a woman in her eighties: her husband developed a slot-machine addiction, gambled away every asset from 58 years of marriage, and their son bailed them out as trustee of the land and home while doling out a tiny allowance.
From No. 581 · Silly Rabbit | Christianity, Culture, and Navigating Social Expectations
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Dear LFTP: the husband in his undos and #nakedDan
- Should my husband wear more than his underwear when our granddaughter visits?
Mike reads a letter from a woman in her sixties: at home her husband wears just his "undos" — watching TV, eating dinner — and with their 2.5-year-old granddaughter coming to stay, she wonders whether he should wear a shirt and shorts since he values the hosts' opinion.
From No. 580 · Not Sure | Old Testament Law, Holy Spirit Guidance, Christian Discernment
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Dear LFTP: the daughter, the grandkids, and "gaslighting"
- How do we repair the rift with our daughter over watching the grandkids?
Mike reads a letter from grandparents whose adult daughter seems to have frozen them out of watching her children after they arrived ten minutes early once and she accused the writer of seeming 'off' and going through something.
From No. 575 · Heartfelt Heresy
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Dear LFTP: apologize to Harry?
- Should a mother apologize to her daughter's boyfriend for yelling at him during a move six years ago?
Mike reads the first Dear LFTP letter: a mother who yelled at her daughter's boyfriend Harry during a miserable move six years ago is now being asked to apologize; Harry has improved as a father but still holds the grudge.
From No. 574 · Starring Ted Danson as Joab
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Dear LFTP: the contentious father
- How do I protect the relationships I have with the rest of my family if my father keeps acting like a jerk?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a 30-year-old whose contentious father refuses counseling, involves extended family, and claims the writer cut off contact.
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Dear LFTP: drive-up grocery, lazy, or antisocial?
- Am I lazy and antisocial for using drive-up grocery pickup?
A listener's son-in-law calls her lazy and antisocial for using drive-up grocery pickup. The hosts defend her while joking that chunky guacamole from bad avocados is a real risk…
From No. 572 · Rippin’ Heaters
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Dear LFTP: the intercepted text message
- Am I wrong to be offended that my niece answered my sister's text?
A listener writes that her long text to her older sister was answered by her daughter — the listener's niece, whom she does not like — and now the whole family has blown it out of proportion and is not speaking.
From No. 571 · Luddite From The Path
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Dear LFTP: the outsider grandparent
- What should a grandparent who moved 2,000 miles and still feels like an outsider do?
Mike reads a letter from a single grandparent who moved 2,000 miles to be near the grandchildren but still feels like an outsider next to the daughter-in-law's parents.
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Dear LFTP: the birthday bill
- Is it unreasonable to resent always paying the family birthday bills?
A woman asks if she is unreasonable for resenting the $500-$1,000 birthday bills she always covers for her younger sister, whose husband never helps.
From No. 563 · Raptors and Heifers
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Dear LFTP: friend mistreats her stepson
- How do I confront my friend about mistreating her stepson while maintaining the relationship?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from someone whose friend Sandra belittles her 14-year-old stepson and favors her four-year-old, asking how to raise the concern while keeping the friendship.
From No. 560 · Chill Out
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Dear LFTP: Kurt and Jared, the feuding comedian brothers
- Dear LFTP: How should we handle our two grown sons' year-long feud?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from parents of three grown sons: middle son Kurt (29) and younger son Jared (26) are in a year-long conflict after both took up stand-up comedy, with name-calling and holiday boycotts.
From No. 556 · A Christian Mid-Life Crisis
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Dear LFTP: unrequited love and the wedding speech
- Am I wrong for settling for our amazing friendship, and how can I convince my best friend we could be more without losing her?
- Should I write and give a toast at my sister's wedding even though she chose not to have a bridal party?
Ben reads three listener letters and the room gives advice. Letter one: a man who fell in love with his best friend ten years ago, was distanced, reconnected recently, still loves…
From No. 555 · The Aslan Wears Prada