DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I wasn’t even doing anything stupid or risky, and I still managed to blow out my shoulder. I had to have extensive surgery, followed by inpatient rehab. That all meant I left my teenage son and daughter in charge of our house for 11 long days and nights.

When my daughter picked me up from the rehab center, she said we had to stop and pick up some groceries because we didn’t have anything in the house.

The whole time I was away I kept asking them if they were eating and taking care of things at the house. They promised me they were.

When we got home, the fridge was bare, but the house was a sh*tshow. I couldn’t believe they couldn’t raise a finger to keep the place decent, especially since I’m extremely limited in what I can do until I’m more healed.

Was it too much to ask for two almost adults to keep the house from becoming a junkheap? --- IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH

DEAR IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH: I don’t blame you for being upset with your kids. Hopefully your son and daughter got the place put back together once you were supervising them.

It might not be a bad idea during your recovery to get your kids into the habit of helping out around the house. If they weren’t already assigned regular chores, now’s a good time to give them some. At least one of them is old enough to drive, so that means they can do more of the household errands you usually cover.

Pushing them to step up while you’re temporarily out of commission should do you good now and hopefully give them a leg up for their adult lives by reinforcing the domestic skills that keep a home habitable.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: It has been a hard sell with our six-year-old son that I am just not ready to get a new dog. We lost our good friend Tippy at the beginning of the year. I had had him since long before I had even met my husband. That dog saw me through some incredibly rough times, so it was a hard loss for me. Our son didn’t know the world without Tippy, so his missing him too is only natural.

What makes things worse is we recently dog-sat my sister’s chocolate lab for a few weeks while they were in the process of moving. Our son got incredibly attached to our guest dog, and now talks non-stop about getting our own puppy.

How do I convince a single-minded six-year-old to give me some more time to grieve the loss of Tippy? --- MISSING TIPPY

DEAR MISSING TIPPY: Children and adults often define time differently. What’s been ages to your son has been a blink to you.

It might help to remind your son that while he knew Tippy all his life, you knew him even longer, and so it’s alright for you to take longer to say goodbye to your old friend.

If you have others in your social circle who have friendly pets, perhaps you could arrange to have your son visit with them. It isn’t quite what he wants, but it may just be what he needs for now.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I share an office with Carson, who has been in his current position for at least as long as I’ve been with the company, which is just over three years.

When I started I was hired as a research assistant. My promotion to marketing was the result of an opening coming available right around the time of my annual review, during which I expressed an interest in moving into that area, especially since I majored in PR/marketing. My review numbers were high and I successfully interviewed for the opening with the head of marketing, who thought I would be a natural fit, and so I got the job.

He hasn’t said anything directly to me, but I have heard from more than one coworker that Carson is saying I played politics and pulled “my race card” to get my promotion into marketing. He said there were several other more qualified people from my old department, and they should have been given the promotion.

I have never played politics in my working life, and I most certainly have never made an issue of my race. I worked hard for two and a half years at my job to prove myself and improve my overall skills. I have no doubt the promotion was entirely legit.

My boyfriend said Carson is insecure and jealous that I moved up probably quicker than he did, and Carson also sees that I am killing the new job, at least based on my 90-day review.

There is a growing tension between me and Carson. I am just out of my probation period, so I don’t want to push for a different workspace. There aren’t that many. Remote work isn’t possible at this time either.

My boyfriend told me to confront Carson and tell him to stop spreading lies about me. But I look at it as I have to share a space with and work with this man and don’t want to make those hours any more difficult.

Do you think I should continue to let it go, or do what my boyfriend said? --- HAVE TO WORK WITH THE MAN

DEAR HAVE TO WORK WITH THE MAN: Although there are some advantages to following your boyfriend’s advice to clear the air with Carson, as you mentioned, you do have to spend your workweek with him.

Your company believed you were ready for your promotion, and your reviews back up their confidence in you.

I think the way to shut down your officemate’s covert criticisms isn’t by confronting him, but rather by continuing to do well in your job. That should help others see that you’re where you’re supposed to be based on your merit and hard work, thereby discrediting Carson’s malicious tales.