DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who has had a hard time finding work. I recently helped her get a freelance job where I have also been working, and she’s doing pretty well. The problem I have noticed is that she is constantly selling herself, telling stories about things she accomplished in the past. These victories are from 20-plus years ago, and the young professionals she is working with don’t care. I think it hurts her to bring up her past because it highlights her age. We still live in a society that is sensitive to age and gender. How can I suggest to her that she just do her job and stop singing her own praises? -- Helping a Friend

DEAR HELPING A FRIEND: Pull your friend aside and have a heart-to-heart talk with her. As difficult as it may be to bring up this topic, you know that she trusts you, so you are the best person to tell her. Suggest that she stop going down memory lane, and instead stay focused on the work at hand. If she handles a project well and she is asked how she knows how to do a particular task, she should then say she learned it when working on a project that she can describe.

In general, bragging about anything is annoying to those listening. Tell her what you have observed, how you have reacted to her commentary and how you have noticed that others have responded. Chances are, she doesn’t realize the effect of her behavior. She is overcompensating while trying to fit in. Suggest that she just relax and let her work speak for itself.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am blessed to have a mother who is approaching her 90th year. She is fortunate to have quite a few friends her age who are still alive. I guess it’s natural that they are having all kinds of health challenges. Every few months there’s another issue. One has heart palpitations. The other got a pacemaker. Another is losing her memory. One of the few husbands left has inexplicable bleeding issues. And yet they are here. How can we, their children, stay upbeat when their health problems are scaring us? This came up again during the holidays when one of my mother’s best friends was hospitalized on Christmas Day. -- Elder Care

DEAR ELDER CARE: Keeping things in perspective may help. You are so fortunate to have your mother and her friends in your life and doing their best as they advance in their years. You are now in a stage of life where you are having to care for your parents in the ways that they cared for you as a child. Often, elders require lots of hands-on care to manage from day to day.

Perhaps you can create an informal support group with your peers who have elderly parents. As your roles evolve into caregivers, be there for one another to talk about your parents’ issues and your own ability to handle the realities of each day. You can create a group chat, a weekly call or a get-together if you are in the same town. Just talking to each other will help you to feel less isolated.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I belong to a sorority that I joined in college. Many of the women have stayed close over the years, and now I wish I had, too. They tried to keep me in the loop, but I was too busy. Now that a lot of time has passed, I feel uncomfortable trying to work my way back into the mix. They keep reaching out to me, but I worry that they are all close and have been for years, and I am the odd girl out. I don’t remember all of their names, and I feel stupid having to reacquaint myself when everybody else is in sync.

Do you think I should try to reconnect with my former sorority sisters? I have spent my life building my career and see that this has made me isolated, but somehow they did both. I’m feeling like my choices weren’t so smart. Do you think I should take my sorors up on getting back together? -- Sorority Life

DEAR SORORITY LIFE: If your sorors are continuing to reach out to you, it is because they genuinely want to be in touch. Believe that their overtures are real. You can re-enter sorority life in increments. Why not reach out to the person you feel closest to? Get together with her in person or on the phone. Tell her you appreciate her reaching out to you over the years, and you want to reconnect. Be honest and let her know that you feel awkward because you don’t really know most of your sorority sisters since you left college. Ask her to help you get reacquainted. Take your time. You don’t have to become everybody’s friend, but it will be nice for you to get close to a few of them and experience the fellowship of sisterhood.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My mom lives thousands of miles away from me, and I visit her once a year. While I’m there, I handle all of the fix-it work around the house. This visit, I noticed that there are some basic things that aren’t getting done. My mom is healthy and strong, but she is getting older -- in her 70s. I see that she hasn’t kept up with little chores like regularly putting out the trash or properly scrubbing the kitchen floor -- things that are important to be handled on a regular basis. I am the only child, and I’m too far away to help her. What do you recommend I do? -- Mom Needs Help

DEAR MOM NEEDS HELP: As our parents age, this is a common challenge. Care starts with the little things and, over time, the needs grow. Look into community support first. Does your mother belong to a church? Perhaps they have a service that supports elders at home. Contact the local government to see what services may be available for your mom. Since she is healthy, the government may not be a viable option.

Look into apps that are available that offer all kinds of a la carte tasks. Check to see if TaskRabbit, Takl or other such services are available in her area. These allow you to order a range of tasks for a particular fee at a specific time. Prices vary depending on the task and the location.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: A friend of mine referred a woman to me for a job. I have so much respect for my friend that I hired his referral without checking any additional references. That turned out to be a bad idea. This woman has worked with me for three weeks, and other than the first few days, it has gone downhill -- and fast. I gave her an assignment, and she didn’t meet the deadline in her first week. When I asked her about her progress, I got excuse after excuse. She was supposed to turn in two reports by the end of week one; I have yet to receive a full report. I got only a couple of pages of notes.

My experience is that people usually try to do their best, especially at first, because they want to make that 90-day mark and get benefits. I don’t think I can keep her. I feel bad because she is close to my friend. Should I tell him what’s going on? How can I get out of this and keep my friendship with our mutual friend? -- Awkward Work Situation

DEAR AWKWARD WORK SITUATION: Deal with the employee first. Talk to her about her job performance, and inquire as to why she is underperforming. Probe to see if she understands her assignments, or if she has outside factors that are distracting her from completing her tasks. Let her know that if she is unable to meet her deadlines within a specific period of time, you will not be able to keep her. Find out from human resources if you need to give her a formal warning since she is still on probation. If you must fire her, do that before speaking to your friend.

Next, contact your friend and give your update. He needs to know that his recommendation backfired. I caution people when they are making recommendations, because essentially, they are putting their reputations on the line. Tell your friend what this woman failed at so he will know in the future not to recommend her for that role. If he gets mad at you, so be it. Next time, do your own due diligence before hiring anyone.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My brother is wealthy. He and his wife have children, just like my husband and I, but they give them way more stuff because they can. All of our children are well-behaved, but my children live much more modestly. My husband thinks that my brother and his wife coddle their kids and aren’t teaching them strong life lessons. I totally disagree. Plus, I don’t think it’s my husband’s business to judge how my brother handles his affairs. Sure, we struggle, but that doesn’t mean that because they don’t, they aren’t teaching their children to be good people. How can I get my husband to stop with his judgments and let people be? -- Stop the Judgments

DEAR STOP THE JUDGMENTS: It can be hard to observe the behavior of people of different means from you and not pass judgment. Your husband seems to be struggling with his own values and resources compared to your brother’s family. You can’t change his beliefs. You can caution him not to talk about them around your children. Remind him how uncomfortable his comments make you. Stand your ground when he goes too far. You should also forgive him for wrestling with this uncomfortable situation.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)