Dear Cr-Abby from Dating in D.C.

DEAR CR-ABBY:
My boyfriend, "Sean," and I met online six months ago. We are now at the stage where we are meeting and going out with each other's friends and co-workers, and the question, "How did you meet?" is coming up.
Sean prefers his friends and family not know we met on an online dating site, while I have been up-front with my circle of friends. I would rather get our history straight before these groups meet each other.
How do we balance his need for privacy with my openness? I would also like to use this as an example to de-stigmatize online dating for my single friends. -- DATING IN D.C.

Dear Courting in the Capitol,

Oh Possum, isn't love grand? I remember the first time a boy stared at my knickers, but I digress.

Perhaps a white lie can bridge the gap,...did you I.M. or email while at work?...many do you know pumpkin. So, he can say,.."we met at work" and you can say we met on line.

Fear not little one, in time the lad will grow up and shed his phobia about the how and begin to focus on the now. These wee men are "works in progress" and you have to nurture the knuckle dragger to a more upright existence.
Don;t get your knickers in a snit over the mundane limitations that is the "male condition".

Cr-Abby

Dear Cr-Abby from Anti-Smoker in Michigan

DEAR CR-ABBY: My girlfriend, "Jasmine," has been seeing a therapist to deal with serious depression and anxiety issues, and I think she has done well for the most part.
I am just upset that she has taken to smoking with her co-workers to deal with stress. I don't like smoking. My mother smokes, and I find it disgusting.
I hate saying these things to Jasmine because when I do, she takes it personally. We have discussed this more than once, and she insists that my asking her to stop is "being controlling." I can't know what stress she is experiencing because of her emotional problems, but I do know that smoking isn't the solution.
I love Jasmine with all my heart, and it's devastating to me to say this, but I can't be with a smoker. Our relationship has been great, but I do not choose to spend my life in a haze of tobacco smoke. I am in college and every day I see kids my age outside freezing their butts off for a smoke because it isn't allowed inside.
Please help me, CR-Abby. This is something I can't compromise on. It's enough that I already have one person close to me who smokes -- I don't need another.
- ANTI-SMOKER IN MICHIGAN


Dear Relationship Up-In-Smoke In Detroit,

I don't like chain smokers and I don't abide anti-smoking Nazi's...the world would be a better place without either of you.
My guess is your controlling nature is the genesis for her depression. You may have the surgeon general, social trends and common sense on your side....Jasmine only has her right to make life choices for herself on hers.


That said, I side with Jasmine...take a powder and move on.

Cr-Abby