DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have had a few people question my home mail deliveries. First, my postman asked me if I worked for the company that sent me so many packages. My neighbor asked if I worked from home because I get so many mail deliveries.
Personally, I do not think I get many deliveries. I get a few packages a week. To me that is not much, but I guess to my postman and neighbor, it is. What is a polite way of answering this question without going into detail about my deliveries?
GENTLE READER: There’s not much going on in your neighborhood, is there?
Of course you should not have to explain or defend your mail. Miss Manners, who is not unfamiliar with the prevalence of nosiness, is only surprised at the subject.
As a response, you could say, “I believe that more and more people are shopping online these days.” Whether that applies to your packages is irrelevant.