DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I have always been big into hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing. My girlfriend sort of tolerates doing some of these things, especially the hiking, but for the most part, she would much, much rather be shopping, binging shows and movies, or just hanging out with her friends, or going out to different kinds of restaurants, which I’m into doing too.

This summer I want to hit Yellowstone NP for a week. I went there with my family when I was a teenager, and remember there was a lot to see and plenty of easy trails.

I already booked the famous Old Faithful Inn late last year to make it as comfortable and special as possible for my girlfriend. If it were up to me, we would have camped, but I want to make sure she’ll be more open to the trip.

I want to propose during the trip. I want it to be a surprise, but I do not want the surprise to be she wants no part of the trip. Last year, when I booked a long weekend at a cabin in a state park, she said no way, and I ended up going with my brother and his wife.

How do I make sure my girlfriend will go with me on this trip, which means so much to me? --- NEED HER TO GO WITH ME

DEAR NEED HER TO GO WITH ME: I think you were smart to book nice accommodations, with all the conveniences, rather than risk your girlfriend’s turning you down due to her dislike of roughing it.

Having also once visited Yellowstone, I too recall the large variety of things to explore and easy trails to take to get to the highlights; and once you get away from the hottest tourist attractions in the park, there’s beautiful scenery galore that fewer people venture out to enjoy.

Perhaps these are some of the arguments you can make to convince your girlfriend that this’ll not be exactly a backcountry hike, but rather, truly a walk in the park.

To reinforce your claim, maybe you could encourage her to check out the park, it’s surroundings, and the inn online for herself. Hopefully, she’ll realize there’s something to appeal to most varieties of visitors at and around Yellowstone.

To sweeten the pot, you might offer a quid pro quo in the form of promising to let her pick your next couples adventure. If she’s willing to explore the sulfur springs with you, then a visit to her favorite shopping venue is the least you can do in my book.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I am an administrator in a small IT company. It took some getting used to being around nerds all day long, but I’ve come to understand them and how they are.

Over the years I’ve gotten close to a couple of my coworkers. It isn’t easy, since the people I work with are mostly introverts.

One of my friends from work is not only smart, but super sweet, and I think a hottie. I tease him about it all the time, but he never knows how to take it.

He’s come to dinner at my house a bunch of times, and the last couple of times, we had single young women from my husband’s office over in the hopes something would spark with my shy friend.

All through the meals and after I watched how he was reacting to the new women. They were both very pretty and chill, not at all loud or pushy. We figured they were both possible good matches for my friend. He seemed engaged, but it’s hard to tell with him.

When I saw him at work after each dinner and asked him if he had a good time, he said he did, and I believed him. When I asked him if he was interested in our other guest, he blushed and got all tongue-tied. When I asked if he wanted me to put him in touch with either woman, he got even more awkward, so I let it drop.

I know he’s shy and all that, but when he’s around people he’s comfortable with, like at work or when it’s just me and my husband, he is funny and relaxed. He would be a caring and kind boyfriend if only he’d let someone get close to him.

What else can I do to convince him he should give himself and a little romance a try? --- FRIEND OF A SHY GUY

DEAR FRIEND OF A SHY GUY: You’ve put your shy friend in the way to meet someone twice already, and neither resulted in a love connection. Maybe he’s just looking to you to be a friend, and not a matchmaker, and that’s more than fine.

Given what you’ve said about him, he might indeed be a catch, but he’s got to do his own fishing when and if the time and circumstances are right for him.

In the meanwhile, I’d say just enjoy his friendship and focus on what makes him happy and at ease when you’re together socially.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I haven’t had that many jobs, but the ones I have had have been working with both men and women.

My new boss said to me right after I started working for her the reason hers is an all-female company is because she will only work with women.

What is even weirder is that she is completely different with men when we visit male clients or they come into the office than she is with just her regular staff. Sometimes she turns it on and off so fast, none of us know if we’ll be seeing the charmer or the “no men allowed” boss as soon as it is just us again.

Is this normal? --- ONE OF THE WOMEN

DEAR ONE OF THE WOMEN: While it may not be entirely normal — or even legal in some places — I too once knew someone like your boss. In her case, she claimed to only trust women based on having had to work her way up in a then male-dominated industry.

In addition to refusing to have men work for her, to hear her talk, it was clear to me she also had very high, if not unrealistic, expectations for those women she supervised. From what I was told, it often made for a tense, rather than a relaxed work atmosphere.

Whatever her reason, your boss has set her policy, and it sounds like she’s committed to it. Her company, her rules.

Hopefully, you’ll learn something useful in your new job, even if it’s just how to deal with an unpredictable boss.