DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I’m a proud Boomer who worked hard to establish myself in my field, being one of the first women at the company I helped build up from nearly the beginning. I’m still one of the only women partners, and I do whatever I can to bring young women onboard.

It truly irks me that my daughter is taking her husband’s name rather than keep her own, as I did when I married her father 33 years ago. It feels like a backslide. Am I wrong to be this upset? --- WOULDN’T GIVE UP MY NAME FOR ANY MAN

DEAR WOULDN’T GIVE UP MY NAME FOR ANY MAN: As I see it, your daughter has just as much right to change her name as you did to keep yours. Both are conscious decisions, and your respective prerogatives.

Some women split the difference and hyphenate their and their spouses’ surnames. Others keep their maiden name for professional purposes and adopt their spouse’s for their personal lives. I knew a female physician who went that route over 70 years ago, and it worked well for her.

Your daughter has chosen the most traditional option, and she deserves to be respected for her choice.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My boyfriend and I recently moved into an apartment building with one of those open courtyards. I thought it was a good idea when we first got here, but the past few weeks I’ve changed my mind because of this creepy kid who lives across from us. He sits out on his balcony and stares at me whenever I’m out there. If my boyfriend comes out, the kid ducks back into his apartment and must watch, because as soon as my boyfriend goes in, the kid comes out.

I don’t think my boyfriend believes me about this little creeper, and I am to the point where I won’t sit out on our own balcony because I don’t want to deal with either my boyfriend’s doubting me or the evil kid’s watching me.

I know who his mother is, and I want to say something, but what can I say? --- CREEPED OUT

DEAR CREEPED OUT: There’s probably little to be accomplished by trying to tell a mother her kid’s a Peeping Tom in the making. What might help is if your boyfriend believed you.

Maybe you can convince him by finding a way to capture evidence of your peeper creeper in the act. A video recorded on your cell might work.

If the kid knows you’re not the only one who sees him, it might inspire him to find a new hobby.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My wife and I are just over 60 and in overall excellent health. However, that doesn’t stop our grown kids from driving us crazy with warnings and lectures about not going out of the house right now. There have been some coronavirus cases in our county, but so far none in our town that we’ve heard of. We’re following our state’s coronavirus guidelines and been limiting our outings to trips to the food store, and both of us are currently home fulltime. My wife is teleworking and I’m continuing with my woodworking business from my garage workshop.

It’s nice that the kids are worried about us, but I hate how old it’s making us feel. How do we get them to back off? --- 62 AND FEELING FINE

DEAR 62 AND FEELING FINE: Clearly, your kids’ hearts are in the right place, and it’s good you realize that. Sometimes I try to deal with our adult kids treating us like old codgers by thinking back to how mature adults seemed so old to me when I was in my 20s. There were professors, bosses, and coworkers I knew who seemed pretty ancient back then, and I now realize they were in fact younger than I am now. It’s a bit of a shock to the system, but one that helps give perspective to the worries of younger generations.

Enjoy the fact that your kids care about you, and keep on keeping on as best as you can. Think of the countless people who have no one worrying about them and those who are more adversely affected by the pandemic than your family is right now.

Be safe and well!