DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: There is an older woman who lives in the house across the street from my boyfriend. I know I’m not being paranoid, because my boyfriend and a lot of other people have commented on how this woman is always peeking out the window to see who is coming and going. She waits until she sees my boyfriend or one of the other neighbors heading out to get their mail and she nearly runs out of her house to “get her mail” too. Then she starts a conversation with whoever was really getting their mail, asking all kinds of questions about what’s happening in their house or with their family, or in our case, between my boyfriend and me.

I don’t want to sound like a crank myself, but how do we get this woman to butt out? --- NEED SOME PRIVACY

DEAR NEED SOME PRIVACY: There have always been and always will be plenty of what my mother used to politely refer to as “curious” neighbors in this world. In some cases, it isn’t so bad having someone keeping an eye on the neighborhood, but when it begins to feel creepy or intrusive, that’s another story.

The next time your boyfriend is approached, he could try changing the to a less personal, safe subject that doesn’t give her any openings to pry. If that doesn’t work, the next step would be to flat out, but politely, tell her he likes to keep his private life private. And if he’s still getting the third degree, he might want to turn the tables on her and come up with a very personal question to ask her about her own private matters.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: At the end of the summer I started dating a man eighteen years older than I am. He’s never been married, so there aren’t any exs or kids to deal with. Still, I get ragged on by my friends and so does he by his. What do we do to get them to back-off? --- THE YOUNGER WOMAN

DEAR YOUNGER WOMAN: Just about every relationship has built-in challenges. What makes or breaks it is how you both deal with those challenges. If you’re cool with the age gap, and he’s cool with the age gap, then what others think and say becomes much less important.

However, in addition to socializing as a couple, I would strongly advise you to take care to separately carve out time with your own sets of friends. Everyone needs a chance to “act their age,” and being with peers provides that opportunity, and demonstrates that you’re each comfortable in both worlds.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My friend and neighbor from down the street started her own on-line mail order business a couple years ago. When it began taking-off, she first asked if I could help her out by watching her kids a few hours a week. After that, she asked me if I wanted to start working with her, which seemed like a good idea since I was only working part time at a local nursing home. Being with my friend originally meant easier hours and we found our toddlers made their own playgroup while we got some work done.

For the last few months, her business has grown so much that we are working more than fulltime hours and it is just becoming exhausting. It is turning out it was easier doing a couple overnight shifts a week at the nursing home. Even though the money was not as good, I actually had more family time.

How do I tell my friend I want to quit so I have more time with my family? --- WANTS OUT

DEAR WANTS OUT: Maybe you don’t need to quit. It sounds like it’s time your friend began looking for more paid help. Let her know how you’re feeling and that ─ provided this is the case ─ you’d be willing to split your hours with someone else interested in working part time. That way you’d still enjoy the benefits of an income with built-in childcare and more regular hours than you put in at a 24/7 healthcare center.