DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I don’t really care about my roommate hooking up with whoever she wants. But I do hate the fact that almost every weekend I wake up at least one of the mornings to a complete stranger hanging out in the kitchen going through the cabinets looking for food or hogging our one bathroom

It grosses me out that these people I don’t know ‒ and neither does my roommate, really ‒ are using our bathroom, my stuff, and taking away time from me in the kitchen and bathroom.

I always have to keep my bedroom door locked and learned the hard way to not leave anything of mine out in the living room or kitchen because I had stuff disappear after one of her “guests” left.

It gets even weirder when my boyfriend comes to stay with me for the weekend. He finds the whole thing as creepy as I do, and he told my roommate he feels like I am unsafe with the strangers being around.

Other than this one thing, I get along with my roommate really well. She’s a nice girl, but she does not seem to think anything is wrong with having all these people in our home.

I still have another full semester to get through on this lease after the winter break. I don’t think I will renew for next year with her as my roommate, but what do I do for the rest of the time I am stuck in this situation? --- TOO MANY “GUESTS”

DEAR TOO MANY “GUESTS”: I understand your unease. It sounds like you’ve taken precautions to keep your possessions reasonably safe, but I too would be uncomfortable having a steady stream of strangers passing through my home.

You mentioned that your boyfriend has spoken to her, but you need to be the one to have a very serious conversation with your roommate about your entirely reasonable concerns. You pay your share of the rent and are entitled to feel both safe and comfortable in your apartment.

Perhaps you and your roommate could establish some ground rules regarding visitors. For instance, if it’s a weekend your boyfriend’s in town, she would refrain from bringing in her own overnight guests; and should any of those guests use something belonging to you, your roommate becomes responsible for replacing it.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Before my dad even met his fiancée, Sophie, he and my mom were already separated and just waiting for their divorce to go through. He was not even living in our house. But my mom keeps telling people my dad left her and the rest of us for Sophie. She tells people Sophie is a cougar and stuff like that. None of it is true.

I like Sophie a lot. She is only three years older than my dad and works in a middle school as a special ed assistant. She is so good with my little brother, who is on the spectrum, and usually doesn’t do well with new people. And she really clicks with my dad, who is not the most social guy in the world.

Sophie never says bad things about my mom, at least not when I can hear, but my mom is so mean about Sophie every chance she gets, no matter who is around to hear. We have fought over how she is about Sophie, and I have learned not to even bring her up around my mom, which is hard because my mom and I are really close and usually talk about everything.

Should I just let Mom’s trash talk go and continue not mentioning Sophie at all around her, or should I stick up for Sophie, which only gets Mom madder, but would make me feel like I’m doing the right thing? --- I LIKE SOPHIE

DEAR I LIKE SOPHIE: Your mother has certainly put you in an awkward position.

Since Sophie is going to be your stepmother and you clearly appreciate the sort of person she is, I believe it’s not at all inappropriate for you to defend her against your mother’s attacks.

However, nobody benefits from an endless argument. I think you should be prepared to have one last showdown with your mom over her verbally attacking Sophie. You could let her know you don’t intend to change your feelings for either woman, and that you will avoid going out of your way to mention Sophie in front of your mom on the condition that she does the same.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I get truly killer periods. Nothing does more than take the edge off the pain, and the bleeding is so heavy I have to change my pad every two hours.

My mom took me to her ob/gyn to see what can be done and we are trying different things to make it less hard on me every month. The doctor talked to my mom and me about starting me on the pill as one option. We are also working with different ways to get the most out of the OTC painkillers before starting on prescription kinds, some of which have some not fun side effects.

My dad grew up with brothers and a mother who once told me her periods lasted three days and she barely ever felt any cramps. So he thinks I am just making a lot of this up to get attention and time off from school. He also told me I am too young to be on the pill. My mom always sides with me against my dad, because even though she doesn’t have as hard a time as I do, she knows how painful the cramps can be and how embarrassing it is when you bleed past your pad.

What do I need to do to convince my dad that all this is real? --- IT’S REAL

DEAR IT’S REAL: For all our willingness to openly and candidly talk about some of the most personal aspects of our lives, the topic of menstruation still seems to set many people on edge. Even if the men in our lives are sympathetic and supportive, I don’t know too many who want to hear the details of a woman’s cycle.

One way you might be able to convince your father about the reality of your difficult periods is to have him go with you and your mother on an upcoming consultation visit with your ob/gyn.

Hearing from a medical professional how genuine your symptoms are would back up what you and your mother have been telling him, and hopefully convince him this is a medical issue and not merely a figment of your imagination.