DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My roommate headed into the Air Force about a year and a half ago and asked if I could hold onto his stuff in the garage of my house. It’s my own home and I always have a roommate or two to help pay for the expenses of running it. I don’t mind having my old roommate’s stuff in the garage. As a matter of fact, he pays me a little each month, which works out for both of us, because it’s more money in my pocket and less than he’d be paying at a storage place.

The trouble is that he has an on-line business that still sells some of the woodwork sculptures he did before he went into the service. He’s really good at it, and I’m glad people want to buy his work. But I don’t love that whenever his mother or one of his sisters comes over to get a piece he’s sold they usually don’t let me know ahead of time and just show up. Sometimes they wake me up after I’ve done an all-nighter at work, or have people over, and at other inconvenient times. I’ve mentioned the problem to my old roommate, but either he did not pass on my request to have his family give me more notice, or if he did, they just don’t care.

I don’t want to get rude with anyone, but what else can I do to stop them from just showing up? --- NOT A WAREHOUSE MANAGER

DEAR NOT A WAREHOUSE MANAGER: Why do you think you’d have to be rude? Since you don’t know if your former roommate passed on your request to give a heads-up before someone comes over, you have every right to let them know you need to be warned beforehand; and I don’t see why you can’t do it politely.

If being nice about it doesn’t work, then you should directly and clearly address the problem with both your old roommate and his family. If they don’t get the message then, that’s when it’s time to start thinking about the next step.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Although I had to finish my final semester on-line after moving back to my dad’s house, and the job I had lined up fell through, I was not doing too badly despite the pandemic. I was able to get a job at a small shop in the downtown area not far from my dad’s home after our state reopened. It only shut down for a few extra days because the owners were concerned about protests, which fortunately stayed peaceful.

Now that things are getting closer to normal, my dad is beginning to pressure me to start looking for someplace else to live, but honestly, I don’t feel like everything is back to normal enough to guarantee the shop won’t close again and everything will be how it was this spring. I don’t make that much that I could afford to pay rent and put away some money in case I find myself out of a job, especially since I was lucky to get the one I did.

What can I say to convince my dad I need a little more time before moving out, which I do want to do, but not right now? --- STILL NERVOUS

DEAR STILL NERVOUS: You’ve got plenty of company in your concerns about the immediate future. We’ve gone through a lot since the beginning of the year, and as much as many things are slowly finding a new normal, there’s still an understandable general sense of trepidation.

Talk to your dad about your feelings, if you haven’t already. Now that you’re making money, perhaps you could offer to either pay some rent or at least pitch in on helping with regular expenses. But be aware that your moving forward is in everyone’s best interest, and may have already happened by now if not for this being such an extraordinary time.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I was with my ex-boyfriend for over three years. We broke up because I wanted to take things to the next level, but he kept telling me he was not ready. Fast forward to last week, when I ran into his best friend, who was a little too happy to break the news to me that my ex is engaged to a woman he has been with for less than six months.

I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it hurts to know that after all the time we were together, he did not really want me for keeps. All I get from my father and stepmother is the “plenty of other fish in the sea” line, which doesn’t exactly make me feel better.

I want to call my ex and tell him what I think, but I keep finding excuses to let him off the hook. Do I make that call? --- NOT THE ONE HE WANTED

DEAR NOT THE ONE HE WANTED: What would you hope to gain by confronting your ex now? It won’t change the situation, and at best would only give you a little temporary relief.

Hard as it may be to take, this wasn’t the guy for you, and he knew it. He’s moved on, and the only way you’ll do the same is to accept that reality and be relieved that your heartache isn’t nearly what it would’ve been had you gotten engaged or married before one of you figured out there was no future for you as a couple.