DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend and roommate has been dating a lot lately -- so much that it worries me something else is going on. During quarantine, she has been FaceTiming four different guys consistently and always tells them how she can’t wait to go out on a date with them.

Every time I bring up the four guys and whether she’s going to date them all, she just tells me she’s not sure and she’s just bored. She has always been shy, and I usually have to introduce her to guys. Now she doesn’t seem to care at all. Should I be worried, or is she really just bored and entertaining herself? -- Too Many Men

DEAR TOO MANY MEN: The virtual world has made some people feel less shy, perhaps because the distance can make personal engagement feel less real. Your friend may simply be bored. Under the current circumstances, she is exploring her power by engaging these men from a distance. The danger is that if she is flirting too much and promising things that she has no intention of doing, she could be setting herself up for a potentially complicated letdown.

Encourage her to remember that each of these four suitors is a person who deserves to be treated with respect. She should spend time trying to figure out who she actually likes so that she can gently extricate herself from the others. In the best of worlds, she should naturally end her courtship with the men who are not really of interest to her well before she has to say she doesn’t want to meet them in person. Given that some people are venturing out and meeting up, the time to edit her list is now.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My elderly mother lives alone in an apartment. During quarantine she took a fall, and it was a while before she was able to crawl to her phone and call me in tears. She was not injured -- more scared than anything. Since then, I have been trying to convince her to move in with me, but she doesn't want to. I don’t want anything else to happen to her, but I don’t feel comfortable with her being in her apartment alone all these months unable to go outside. What can I say or do to convince her that living alone is no longer suitable for her? -- Mom Come Home

DEAR MOM COME HOME: Start with smaller measures. Get her a personal alarm, like Life Alert, that she can push if she is ever in trouble. Activating the device will warn you and potentially the police that she has an emergency. You may want to invest in security cameras inside her home that are motion-activated. In this way, you will be able to monitor her activity and know if she is in trouble. Over time, you will be able to determine whether she needs to move. Take it slowly so that she can get used to the idea.

(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 recently had to euthanize my dog. He was about 13 years old -- very old for a dog. When I would get home from work, he laid in the same spot and didn’t move. He stopped eating and was soiling himself. I tried to get him to stand up, but he would nip at me and cry out in pain.

My family and I managed to get him cleaned up and moved into our van to take him to the vet. The vet said he had lost a majority of muscle mass in his legs and recommended putting him to sleep rather than spending thousands of dollars in surgery to try to repair the little muscle left. We decided to put him to sleep, but now all I feel is guilt and regret, like I gave up on him. How do you come to terms with having made a decision for your family pet like this? -- We Miss Him

DEAR WE MISS HIM: Saying goodbye to a family pet can feel like saying goodbye to a family member, especially when the pet has been part of the family for so long. It is natural for you to feel a range of emotions. Because these days there are so many options to keep pets alive, it is understandable that you might think that you should have done more to extend your pet’s life. But the reality is that sometimes you have to let your pet go. Trust that your vet would not have suggested that it was time to euthanize your dog unless he was certain that there were no other viable options.

Now is the time for you to mourn your loss and to be grateful for the time you shared together.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My brother and I are super close; he is my best friend. We want to get our own place together 200 miles away from home. We never had arguments or issues growing up. He is not messy, he works hard, he always does what he has to do and I know that I can always count on him. He is just as eager to move as I am.

Now that we are house hunting, it seems that I am doing all the work and he is dragging his feet with applications. I know that he and his girlfriend are discussing whether she will be coming with us, but I have a feeling he’s getting cold feet about moving because of her. I have everything ready to go, and I found the perfect place, but I need to know if he is living with me. Should I wait to see what he plans to do or just decide to find a different place fit for myself and move without him? -- Packed and Ready

DEAR PACKED AND READY: Consider your brother’s behavior to be a blessing in advance. If his level of interest is waning because of the distraction of his girlfriend, you want to know that in advance. Sit down with your brother and have a heart-to-heart discussion. Ask him what he wants to do now. Point out that you need to know if he is committed to sharing an apartment with you. You also want to know if he intends for his girlfriend to move in. If so, she should accept some of the financial responsibility for the apartment. Get crystal-clear about the plan with him. You may need to move on. Let your frank conversation with him guide you to next steps.

(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: My mom is in her 60s and has compromised lungs. For the past few months, my sister and I have been taking her groceries and having what she needs delivered to her house. Growing up, we had a constant flow of lost souls going in and out of our house. We never knew who was going to be camped out on our driveway or sleeping on our couch for weeks at a time.

We have really high rates of COVID in our state, and my mom has a casual friend camping on her driveway who is not practicing social distancing. The last time my kids were at my mom’s house, this person yelled at them for doing something wrong (she was incorrect). She also made them roll in the gravel after they had her dog do a trick in the gravel. My kids are middle and late elementary school-aged and are good kids. When I approached my mom about this, she got defensive and made excuses for the friend’s behavior. We don't feel comfortable going to her house with this person there, and my sister is on the same page and has the same concerns.

Do you have any suggestions on how to go forward? My sister and I are both going to keep delivering groceries, but it has put a big wrench in our relationship. My oldest son tried talking with his grandma and came away frustrated and hurt. -- Family Drama

DEAR FAMILY DRAMA: Given that your mother has always welcomed lost souls to her home, you are not likely to get her to ask this person to leave. What you can do is draw the line for yourself and your family. Let her know that you will continue to have food delivered to her home, but that you and her grandchildren will no longer come by. Explain that you are concerned about being exposed to COVID-19. Since the person is not practicing social distancing and has exhibited untoward behavior, you want to protect your family from them. Suggest that your mother reconsider who she allows to be near her, given her condition. In the end, you have to put your foot down to protect yourself and your children.

DEAR HARRIETTE: In regard to the person who has only a fan during videoconference calls and wants to stay cool, I have a couple of suggestions for how to keep cool from personal experience. One thing to try is to put a tub of water and ice in front of the fan so the fan blows over the tub of water and you get the cool air. Put damp towels in the fridge overnight, and place them on your body where they can't be seen during the call, like your thighs and stomach, while the fan is blowing. Also, take a quick, cool shower before meetings. Keep a wet towel nearby, and wet your arms, legs, chest and stomach so when the fan blows on you, it cools you off. Repeat as needed. Hope this helps! -- Stay Cool

DEAR STAY COOL: Thank you for these practical tips. Another reader suggested putting your feet in a small tub of ice water -- again, out of the eye of the camera -- to help you stay cool during these super-hot days.

(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.)