DEAR ABBY: When I was 17, I was checked into a psychiatric hospital for severe depression and a suicide attempt. While I was there I met "Jim," a boy who was there for the same reasons. To make a long story short, we kept in touch and now we're dating. We benefitted from the experience and are good for each other.
The catch is that he lives more than an hour away from me. We see each other frequently, but friends often ask how we met and we don't know how to answer the question. Generally, we say something vague about how we have known each other for a long time, but some people continue to press. Neither of us wants to advertise that we spent time in a psych ward. How can we gracefully sidestep the question? -- DODGING THE QUESTION IN THE U.S.A.
DEAR DODGING: It is difficult to sidestep a question that is asked so frequently in the course of conversation -- especially if a couple seems compatible. Because you would rather not be specific, just say you met in a teen counseling group a few years ago. It's the truth -- you were being counseled.