MODERN MANNERS

I think whether or not to keep trying is a question that only you can answer. Do you want to pursue this friendship? Beyond the current awkwardness, is this a person who is truly important to you? After all, you did leave her without saying good-bye, and even if that wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision, it’s worth examining the relationship. Maybe recent events have made you realize that you’re ready to let her go. And if not? Here’s my suggestion on how to repair things: Your friend is hurt, so muster as much compassion as you can and show up. Do this literally, at her door, with a heartfelt face-to-face apology. At the very least, send a snail-mail note, which can come across as a more sincere and thoughtful effort than the usual higher-tech routes. Tell her you’re sorry and that you hope she’ll forgive you. Then, fingers crossed, maybe she will.

The author of the parenting memoir Waiting for Birdy, Catherine Newman has shared her wisdom on matters ranging from family and friends to happiness and pickling in numerous publications. She gets advice from her husband and two opinionated children in Amherst, Massachusetts. I live in an apartment, and the woman who lives above me is incredibly noisy. I can identify her by her stomp coming up the stairwell, and she constantly bangs her kitchen cabinets. My weekends are ruined by her incessant thumping and slamming. Is there anything I can do, or is this just one of those grin-and-bear-it situations?

There’s plenty you can do, as long as you approach the situation with grace and good humor. Begin by assuming that your neighbor has no idea she’s being noisy. Given that the din seems to occur when she’s simply retrieving cereal bowls or ascending the staircase, rather than throwing huge parties or allowing her brother’s band to rehearse at her place, this is very likely the case. Knock (softly) on her door and explain your experience in the most generous terms you can. “You’d have no way of knowing,” you can say, “but sound carries a great deal from your apartment to mine.” Describe the specific noises you can hear so that she grasps the scope of the problem. If she seems willing to attend to the issue, great—problem probably solved. If she’s baffled, you could try gently brainstorming solutions with her (putting down an area rug, what have you). If she’s unresponsive, you can discuss the building’s policies with your landlord. If you rent, check your lease. Some leases have noise guidelines. Some buildings note quiet hours, although they tend to focus on parties rather

than basic kitchen prep. Make that a last resort, though. You would probably do better investing in noisecanceling headphones than having a (noisily) resentful neighbor.

I truly enjoy cooking. My family enjoys my food, and my husband brags about it to friends and family. That being said, in the three years that we’ve been married, my mother-in-law has never tasted my food. She lives out of town, so when she visits, I let her cook old favorites for my husband and us. On the days that she does not cook, I prepare dinner, and she says either that she is not hungry or will eat later. It happens every visit. My husband and I joke about it, but I’m wondering: Is it OK to ask my mother-in-law why she never eats my food? Or should I keep the peace by not saying anything? We do have a fairly close relationship where we can be open and honest.

I’m no psychologist, but this is kind of a Freudian doozy. It sounds as if she has some issue, conscious or not, with your usurping her role of feeding her son. I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot spatula were it not for the surprise ending of your question—you and your mother-in-law are actually close! If your relationship is truly open and honest, say something. Try complete transparency (“Am I right to notice that you never eat any of the food I make? Why is that?”), a less direct comment (“You don’t seem to eat the meals I cook, and I’m worried you have a dietary issue I don’t know about”), or even slight humor (“You do know that I’m not trying to poison you, right?”). Maybe she wants you to notice and will be relieved you’ve asked. And maybe you can explain to her, in the most caring terms, what’s at stake: “I love to feed your son, and I know you do, too. It’s something we have in common. But it would mean so much if you would let me feed you, too.”

How can I respond to a family friend who constantly belittles my adult daughter’s choice of sexy clothes and my adult son’s baggy pants? I want to tell him off, but I don’t want to stoop to his level.

How about: “So I should cancel the chaps I ordered for your birthday?” If you want to go deeper but stay playful, you can bring up sartorial choices that horrified your own parents when you all were young. (Flowered bellbottoms! Braless Fridays!) Then remind him of the basic-tolerance mantra “Different strokes for different folks.” Your children are adults now, and it’s not for you to control or judge their appearance. So the kids dress differently from how your friend—or perhaps you yourself—would. Who cares? Remind your friend of the kids’ accomplishments, and few things that I would like to give you in person.” If they still don’t respond? Pop the items in the mail and be done with it for now. Maybe the gifts will prompt a reconnection.

encourage him to focus on the people they’re becoming rather than on the clothes they’re wearing.

My mother and her two sisters have all passed away. My mother died most recently. She left some gifts for three of my cousins who live nearby. My cousins and I haven’t stayed close as we’ve grown up. I have called and e-mailed, saying I would like to see them. It’s not as if I’m holding these gifts as a “prize” for showing up. It’s been 18 months with no success. I could just mail the items, but I don’t feel that honors my mother’s wishes. This is emotionally difficult. How can I get it done?

Grief is hard enough to bear as it is, but it also tends to amplify slights. Perhaps you were accustomed to the distance between you and your cousins. But now, in the wake of loss, it’s painful—and that’s exacerbated by their lack of response to your efforts. Reach out again and be direct: “I would love to see you. Now that the three sisters have died, it feels important to stay connected. Also, my mother left you a How do you politely ask guests not to use your nice, decorative bathroom towels when there are other hand towels put out to use? They don’t seem to get it.

Well, you can’t laminate them. And while it may seem obvious to you that certain towels are off limits, I’ll admit that I wasn’t entirely familiar with the idea—and perhaps I’m not alone. I get slapping your children’s muddy hands away from them or rolling your eyes when your husband grabs one to wipe up spaghetti sauce. But dinner guests are probably going to assume that a towel hanging in a bathroom is there to be used. So I’m going to invoke one of my most basic etiquette rules—the one I use for dropped wineglasses and busted cane chair seats—and it’s this: People are more important than stuff. You can’t chide your guests or proscribe their hand drying. The only solution is to hide the towels away or toss them in the laundry every now and then.

Submit your social conundrums to Catherine

at REALSIMPLE.COM/ MODERNMANNERS. Selected letters will be featured on these pages each month.