Dear Eric: For more than five years now I have a single friend and her two children for dinner weekly. This began after her narcissistic husband, who had had an adventure while near the mandate with a difficult and hospitalized pregnancy, left her for the other woman while my friend was in maternity leave with the new preemie and the eldest son.
I left contact with Philander/deserter and never talked to the girlfriend (now wife), and I have no intention of doing it. His divorce, due to the complexities of breeding children between two homes, remains full and children suffer from it.
But they move to a house on the street where I live and where I am kind with everyone else.
How can I navigate for this? I want to remain a constant presence in the life of the children, but I have nothing to do with the Narcissistic Home.
—Paleal Avi
Dear Avi: You can keep the line with the ex-housing. Not all neighbors must be your friend. But since you have a relationship with the children and the mother, you could talk to your friend about the new arrangement and ask -how you can be a supporter.
It will probably be very helpful in having a place on the blog that they know is safe and supportive. You may not be old enough to come and visit your own, so your weekly dinners can be enough for now. But continuing this tradition will strengthen the relationship you are building and help them, the children and your friend, to see -you are a crucial support.
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas to Eric@askingic.com or PO Box 22474, Philadelphia, Pa 19110. Follow it on Instagram and register -in his weekly newsletter at Rerithomas.com.)
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