DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Even though my husband’s first wife is the one who decided on a divorce after she met someone else, whenever we get together with friends my husband and she had in common, I get the cold shoulder from the women. They treat me like I did something to hurt their friend, and all I did was marry her ex-husband, years after they split up.

While the men in the friends group treat me okay, to the women, I’m just a Hoe. I’ve told my husband about this, since he doesn’t seem to see it when we’re with his friends. He thinks I’m imagining it, but I know I’m not.

It’s like being back in high school, and I’ve told my husband I don’t want to be around those witches, but he thinks I’m just being snooty around his old friends.

What do I do to get this mess under control? --- NOT THE BAD GUY HERE

DEAR NOT THE BAD GUY HERE: My guess is the story being shared by your husband’s ex is quite different from the one your husband’s shared with you. Think of the old concept, “There are three sides to every story — his, hers, and the truth.” Unfortunately, you’re an unwitting character in all three tales, and it isn’t likely you’re going to change the minds of your predecessor’s friends, especially if there’s also an element of jealousy at play. That would help explain the high school freeze-out mentality.

Perhaps the time has come to break with your husband’s social past, and focus on establishing a new set of friends.

If, however, your husband continues to be blind to how awkward the time spent with his old gang is for you, then maybe you can encourage him to go stag to those events, while you choose to use the time to visit with friends and family of your own. He may tire of being the odd man out at couples events, and eventually opt to just stick to gatherings with the guys.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I know that I am not always on time for everything, especially now that I have two kids of my own, but I have a friend who even before we started having families could NEVER make it anywhere on time. She was even late for her own wedding.

Back when it was just a group of friends or just us two getting together, it didn’t seem so bad. Now, though, when I don’t have as much time for a social life, it really bugs me that she can’t make it to our meetups on time. Whenever I say anything to her, she just laughs it off.

I don’t think she does it on purpose. I just think she’s one of those genetically unable to be on time people.

What can I do to waste less time waiting for my always late friend? --- WAITING, WAITING, WAITING

DEAR WAITING, WAITING, WAITING: When our kids were small, I used to try and calculate at least five extra minutes preparation time per child for getting out the door. It’s like building in traffic or bad weather time.

Perhaps something along that same line may work with your perpetually tardy buddy. For instance, if you’re able to meet her at noon, tell her to be there at 11:45 a.m. If she beats you to your rendezvous, then it’ll be her turn to wait. If she’s late for the designated time, she may be at least a little closer to what you originally had in mind.

Another option is to become a time nag, but in my experience, constantly prodding someone to be prompt rarely works.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My son had COVID in March of this year. He contracted it while working at a restaurant. He did not have to be hospitalized, thank goodness, but he was down for nearly a month, and still gets tired more easily than he used to do.

He is scheduled to return to college in a couple of weeks, and I am a basket case thinking about everything that could go wrong with him and his health. He was on the track team before the shut-downs, and is planning to go out for it again this year. I just do not know if he is strong enough to handle this and a totally full class load, and a work-study job. I know plenty of kids do it all, but not too many of them are doing it as a COVID survivor.

My wish is that he would sit out the sports for the first semester, and focus on staying on top of his health and his classes, especially since I keep reading stories about the potentially lasting heart problems in young men who have had COVID.

How much should I try to discourage my son from getting back in the middle of a too hectic, too physically strenuous situation? --- COVID SURVIVOR’S MOM

DEAR COVID SURVIVOR’S MOM: I completely understand your concern. This is a topic best discussed with your son’s physician. As I understand it, college athletes are required to have pre-season physicals, at least in the case of NCAA member schools. Hopefully, your son’s doctor is aware of any new recommendations for post-COVID cardiac or other system screenings, and if your son has already had and passed a thorough pre-season physical, that would appear to be a good sign that he’s considered fit to participate in sports. But, much is still unknown about long-term health effects of the virus, even on young people.

Since you have valid concerns about how ready he is for more than just the athletic aspect of his daily life at school, it’s worth it to be honest with him about your worries. It might be worth it for him to consult with his doctor about more than just his athletic readiness, for everyone’s peace of mind.