DEAR ABBY: I'm an 18-year-old woman who lives at home with my parents. I have been seeing an amazing person for a while now. There is just one problem. My mother has decided to put "rules" on our relationship.
By rules, I mean: a curfew, how often I see him, where I am to be with him and various other things. Also, she randomly blurts out that I am "never to move in with him until I am married." I don't plan on moving in with him until we both have our college degrees.
I am technically an adult, which means to me that I can make my own decisions and suffer the consequences if there are any. I know I live in my parents' home. I follow their rules and respect their wishes -- but this is a bit extreme, don't you think?
Abby, please advise me on how to explain to my mom that I'm an adult and not a newborn baby as she regards me? -- NOT A CHILD ANYMORE IN OHIO
DEAR NOT A CHILD: Although you may be an adult in the eyes of the law in Ohio, you are not independent. As long as you are dependent upon your parents for shelter, food or anything else there is a price you will have to pay. In this case, the price you are paying is your mother's loving but hawklike supervision. And if you think you or I can talk her out of it, you're dreaming.