DEAR HARRIETTE: My 3-year-old son will start preschool in two weeks, and I am worried that I may not be able to take him on the first day. The company I work for is particular about people being late or missing time from work. I run the risk of being reprimanded if I decide to take my son to his first day of school, but I will be sad if I do not take him. What is a single mom to do? -- First Day of School Blues, Memphis, Tenn.

DEAR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL BLUES: Wow, I hope I am not responding to you too late. But here goes: Be pre-emptive. Speak to your boss immediately and ask for permission to come to work late on that day. While it makes perfect sense that your company expects you to come to work on time, it is also possible that they will understand if you ask in advance.

Because you are a parent, you need to establish a relationship with your company that will make it possible for you to leave in case of emergency. Trust that when you have children, there are almost always times when you will need to leave early or not come to work in order to care for your child -- unless you have someone who can cover for you. If you are able to establish a respectful rapport with your boss now, where it is obvious that you do a great job when you are there and make up for it when you are not, you stand a greater chance of receiving that much-needed flexibility.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I made a terrible mistake of quitting my job in the fashion industry and moving out of New York City to live with my girlfriend in Boston. Now I am miserable. My life has not been the same since I moved to Boston. I have squandered all my money trying to please my girlfriend only to find out that she was cheating on me. I plan to go back to New York and try to find a job and a place to live, but I have a small problem. I have no friends who I can ask to stay with while I try to back on my feet. I am embarrassed about my current situation. If I can get back to New York, I know I can get back on my feet, but I do not know what first step should be. Please help. -- Fool in Love, Boston

DEAR FOOL IN LOVE: Starting over can be excruciating, especially when you feel duped. You need to slow down and survey your landscape. What can you do in order to stabilize your income and make a strategic plan for moving? You should not move back to New York with no resources and nowhere to lay your head. Instead, work where you are. Move -- if you haven't already -- into a small, affordable space. Save every penny you can. Stay away from your ex. Surround yourself with positive people. Put out feelers for work where you are, in New York and elsewhere in your area of expertise.

DEAR READERS: Once again we are solemnly at the anniversary of 9/11, a day that we will never forget. Sadly, it is part of our nation's history that reminds us that there is always a tug between freedom and vulnerability.

I remember pre-9/11 when I went to the airport and did not have to take off my shoes or be frisked or subjected to a body scan. I remember when people moved with relative innocence from one place to another, not imagining that a random person might want to do them harm.

While in large part our nation remains the great meeting ground of opportunity, plenty and openness, it is constantly being plagued with the question of whether we are safe.

In our recent past we have had all manner of tragedies, from the Boston Marathon bombings to random shootings in schools such as Newtown, Conn., and Atlanta, as well as the movie theater in Aurora, Colo. We have experienced controversial killings, most recently that of Trayvon Martin. Whether fired by weapons aimed out of fear or hatred, our nation's very skin has been riddled with bullets that threaten our soul.

And yet, we will never give up hope. In the year that we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs, we remember that even in times of need, sorrow or sadness, there is more good in our nation than bad.

In this moment when we honor the innocent fallen who lost their lives on that tragic September day, we must take a pause and contemplate where we are today, individually.

In peaceful reflection we must search our souls to see how we can contribute to the promise that is the international draw of this great country. What can we do to grow peace and prosperity? I do not mean this rhetorically. Literally, I implore us all to ask ourselves this question.

At any given moment we are faced with choices. We can choose to help quiet restless members of our families and neighborhoods. We can choose to direct our own steps toward loving communication and thoughtful acts. We can choose to take a deep breath and not lash out at our loved ones when we or they are in a fit of frustration. We can choose to stand up for our neighbors and co-workers and friends when others have done them wrong. We can choose to report a crime that has been committed, even when it would be easy to turn our heads. We can choose to be responsible for doing our part to keep our country healthy and safe.

The question is: Will we? Too often we go about our daily lives putting one foot in front of the other without consciously thinking about where we are going. Too often we hurt the people we care about the most. Or scapegoat the weak in order to promote ourselves. Too often these things happen without our even realizing it.

I believe one way that we can protect our great country and our beloved families is to wake up. We can start our day with the intention of being our best selves, knowing that if we exemplify honorable living, others may too. It's that Golden Rule. It still applies.

DEAR READERS: So many people responded to the question about how to handle the situation when visiting a friend whose parent has a gun that I thought I would run a few of them for your review.

Gun ownership and gun safety are hot-button issues right now. Many of our nation's cities continue to be plagued by gun violence. Too often we hear stories of little children accidentally killing their siblings because they got their hands on some adult's gun.

I spoke to a friend who is a gun owner recently who talked about how views and uses of guns are dramatically different from region to region. Indeed, this is true. Often, the debate is about guns in urban settings. But in the case of the initial question, it was essentially about a child visiting a home where guns are stored and how to protect the child. Here's what some of you had to say:

DEAR HARRIETTE: If "Gun Shy" really wants to keep her kid safe around ALL guns and not just the ones her friends has, ask him to take her son and his kids to a gun range. Take the mystery out of what damage a firearm can really do, and the kids will realize it is not like in video games. There is no reset button for real people. -- Gun-wise at an Early Age, Chicago

DEAR HARRIETTE: Believe it or not, 8 years old is a great time to learn about gun safety. Check with your local Cub Scout packs. There are some very educational and entertaining safety presentations available that don't involve handling guns. -- Savvy, Racine, Wis.

DEAR HARRIETTE: Though I'm not a National Rifle Association fan, I do own guns and occasionally shoot. My additional advice to your reader would be, whether or not he or she decided to let the child go to the friend's house, consider taking a hunter's safety class. The class teaches about guns and how to handle them in a safe environment. Students learn to treat all guns as being loaded and dangerous at all times. No one has to shoot a gun, but this knowledge may save someone's life. In Michigan's hunter's safety classes, people are taught that it is NOT cool to point guns for fun and that they should be kept locked up. Gun locks and safes should be used in all gun-owning homes, and kids should not be given the combination to it/them. Parents who don't lock up their guns are negligent.

A friend equated gun safety with being a safe driver. She said, "You can't be a safe driver if you've never been taught how. So how can you be safe with or around guns if you've never been taught how? A car can be just as lethal as a gun, maybe more so." It really made me think. -- Mindful, Auburn, Mich.