DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My daughter was in a relationship with a man she thought would be her life partner, if not her husband in time.

Two months ago, they both came over to my house to tell me my daughter is expecting, and that although they intend to remain good friends, they will no longer be a couple, and the father of my future grandchild has promised to support his child emotionally and financially.

I could tell this was not an easy conversation for them to have with me. I really like “Coulton,” and I know my daughter loves him and fully thought he was her “one.” After Coulton left, my daughter told me he told her he has feelings for her, but not the kind to build a lifetime on.

I can tell it just about broke my daughter’s heart, but she is tough and will have a lot of support from her family and friends, including me, her dad, my parents, her brothers and their wives, and the coworkers she has grown very close to. When they were at my house, she and Coulton said his parents and family plan to be very involved with the baby too.

So, while all that makes me feel a little better, why does what ought to be exciting news about a new grandchild make me feel more sad than joyful? --- WHY AM I NOT EXCITED?

DEAR WHY AM I NOT EXCITED?: It’s more than understandable that you have mixed feelings about your daughter’s pregnancy due to the breakup of her relationship with the baby’s father.

Hopefully her ex will make good on his intentions be an involved and supportive parent to their child. If that stays the case, then between your daughter’s family and friends circle and her ex-boyfriend’s, there should be, as you hope, a good care network for both your daughter and grandchild.

Formalizing the terms of the parental partnership before the baby arrives may make for a better situation for your daughter and grandchild than is often the case when couples split up at some point after their children are born.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: After my son was mugged on his way back to his dorm in his freshman year, he found himself going through his own kind of PTSD. Thankfully he was not badly hurt, but he was hurt enough to have developed serious anxiety and has had several bouts of depression over the last two years.

He ended up finishing out the year of the mugging, but transferred to a smaller college, closer to home, to which he commutes, and stays with my sister, who lives only about 10 minutes from the campus, on nights he has had late classes. The rest of the time, he stays with my wife and me.

Shortly after the mugging, my son started seeing a therapist who supposedly specializes in treating people with PTSD.

I know I am not a professionally trained therapist, but I have to say some of the “exercises” this therapist has my son do are a bit out there, if you ask me.

I talk to my wife and a few close friends who have gone through or are still in therapy, and when I tell them what my son’s therapist is having him do, they almost all say something doesn’t sound quite right and think my son ought to see someone else, if for no other reason than to get a different opinion of what can most help him.

I know my son has a lot of confidence in the therapist he has now, but do you think it would be a bad idea for him to get another opinion on his treatment? --- NOT QUITE RIGHT

DEAR NOT QUITE RIGHT: From what I understand about therapy, it’s a very individual experience, not a one-size-fits-all solution. What works for your wife and friends might not be right for your son.

I would think that if you’ve seen positive results, such as a lessening or mastering of your son’s anxiety and depression, chances are whatever his therapist is recommending and encouraging is working for him, and there may not be any real benefit to seeking another opinion on his treatment at this point in time.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I really admire my fiancée, “T.” She started her own business doing custom etching and engraving.

She made a serious investment to get the machines and other supplies for the set-up, and lately things have been going well enough that she has covered the cost of those things, and she is starting to pull in some profit. She has started talking about being able to quit her fulltime job by the end of the year, if the pace of orders keeps up.

Her family, friends, and I are all really excited for her, but everyone has the same complaint — she is ALWAYS working and we never get to see her for more than a quick hour now and then. It’s rough on her family, even rougher on our relationship, and roughest of all on T.

We all get that she needs to devote herself to her business, but she will sometimes work until just a couple hours before she has to get to her regular job, so she is exhausted all the time.

Also when we were supposed to go on vacation this summer with her family to the place they rent on the beach every year, she got the time off from her regular job, but wouldn’t take the time away from the business because she had just gotten in back-to-back big orders for first a wedding and then a company that was having a massive banquet.

When we talk about T.’s schedule, her parents and I agree that at this rate, even if she quits her regular job, she will just put all those hours into the business and become a complete workaholic.

We all want to see her succeed, but how do we convince her there is more to life than building her business? --- MORE TO LIFE THAN WORK

DEAR MORE TO LIFE THAN WORK: Opening your own business is a major commitment, on many levels, especially if you want to succeed. For her sake, though, I agree T needs to find space for the other things in life beyond work.

If she’s open to it, perhaps you could suggest she hire someone to help her — even on a very parttime basis — with marketing, customer service, bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, and other areas T.’s probably squeezing in around the more creative aspects of her start-up.

Taking those functions off her plate might not just relieve some of the stress of juggling what sounds like two fulltime jobs, but likewise provide the added bonus of freeing T. up to reconnect with the world outside of work. And once she does, it may be easier for her to find a little better life-work balance in general.