DEAR ABBY: Fifteen years ago, I "ran away from home" to get away from my adult children, and I finally made a life for myself. They were able to stay in the house because I continued to pay the mortgage. Their dad -- my ex -- and his family all lived nearby.
Now, none of my children wants anything to do with me or my family, and they don't want any communication from me. I suspect they feel abandoned, since I was the parent they could always count on. Is there anything I can do to repair our relationship? -- RUNAWAY MOM IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR MOM: Yes, tell your children you are selling the house, which, I assume, you now own outright. I'm quite sure they'll begin "communicating" with you as soon as word reaches them. You were more than generous by keeping up those house payments so they would have a roof over their heads. If you had to "run away" from their bottomless pit of need, you did the right thing. Please don't allow yourself to be used any further. You saved yourself, and you shouldn't feel sad or guilty for having done it.