DEAR ABBY: My father-in-law died a couple of months ago, and since then my mother-in-law insists that one of her kids spend the night with her. She told them that "people" have told her she should not spend a night alone for at least a year.
This is causing grief and bitterness because my husband has explained to her that when he stayed the first two weeks, he left me at home alone, and it was time she started facing things and move on.
What are the obligations of the children when a parent dies? His mother doesn't need them financially. Are we being too hard on her, or does she need to seek help with moving on? We are afraid that if she keeps this up, she's going to push herself into an early grave or drive her kids away. -- TIRED OF SLEEPING ALONE
DEAR TIRED: My deepest sympathy to your mother-in-law for her loss, but it is not the responsibility of an adult child to leave his (or her) spouse to sleep with Mama for a year. A week or two, perhaps -- but certainly not a year.
His mother should talk to her clergyperson or doctor about joining a grief support group to help her through this difficult time. And if she's afraid to be alone in the house -- and she's an animal lover -- a solution to that could be for her to adopt a dog from an animal rescue organization.