DEAR ABBY: My husband is a self-employed contractor. We recently had to convert our home office into a bedroom for my son, so our "office" is now in our bedroom until we can add on to the house. My husband has a new client who thinks nothing of calling at 10 p.m. or later, and last night he sent a fax at 11:45! The ringing woke me and it took two hours to get back to sleep.
I want my husband to ask his clients not to call after 9 p.m. He thinks I'm being unreasonable, and he's embarrassed to admit that our office is in our bedroom. I don't think any explanations are necessary. What do you think? This issue is creating hard feelings. -- SLEEPLESS IN THE MOUNTAINS
DEAR SLEEPLESS: I have another idea. Most phones and faxes have switches that control the ringer volume. Turn them off when you go to bed, and you should be able to slumber like a baby. If yours do not have volume control, consider investing in ones that do.