Is it just me, or does Carolyn Hax seem to take tons of time off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is insufferable.

In what way? I do not share that sentiment at all so am trying to see what people object to about her

[Anonymous]

I originally found her sort of stream-of-consciousness writing style irritating, but I love her now. I don't know if her writing style changed, or I just got past it, but her advice has been really valuable to me over the years.

I've often said that reading her columns is like a clinic in how to have healthy relationships. PP was right that she doesn't just give situation-specific advice. She gives you a thought process for approaching issues that is applicable beyond the problem at hand.

I'm sorry about her father. She went through hell losing her mother to ALS.

[Anonymous]

I am a fan and don’t begrudge her you one needed to practice what she preaches.

I would also take time to grieve in her shoes.

For people saying that she sounds old and tired and more like a mother than a sister - I don’t know many mothers who give such clear eyed advice. I like that she encourages readers to take responsibility for their own thinking and actions and to
hold themselves to higher standards than they hold others. I like that she encourages collective wisdom and does not assume she has all the answers. None of us do.

We are all human and it is good she is taking time to nurture herself and her family during a difficult period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a fan and don’t begrudge her you one needed to practice what she preaches.

I would also take time to grieve in her shoes.

For people saying that she sounds old and tired and more like a mother than a sister - I don’t know many mothers who give such clear eyed advice. I like that she encourages readers to take responsibility for their own thinking and actions and to
hold themselves to higher standards than they hold others. I like that she encourages collective wisdom and does not assume she has all the answers. None of us do.

We are all human and it is good she is taking time to nurture herself and her family during a difficult period.

Sorry should say

I am a fan and I don’t begrudge her taking the time she needs to practice what she preaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is insufferable.

In what way? I do not share that sentiment at all so am trying to see what people object to about her

NP here. People I know who know her in real life say she's incredibly controlling. It's hard for me to like her knowing that. It's like when I find out an actor I like is a jerk, I can't like them anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

Which is often the best advice you can get, believe it or not. I am clearly biased at my age but I've been reading Hax for decades and also lived through whatever age you are and unless your mother and grandmother are extremely screwed up and dysfunctional you might want to give their wisdom and expertise a little more respect.

I think there’s grace to recognizing when your many years of experience, while valuable, simply isn’t as relevant to modern issues. Validating the next generation’s perspective is a big benefit, too.

I hope she gets the time and space for some reflection.

I read her here and there and can’t get over these posts. She doesn’t sound like grandma to me and I can’t believe there are people complaining about the amount of vacation she takes. You really need a life if you need her column that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a fan and don’t begrudge her you one needed to practice what she preaches.

I would also take time to grieve in her shoes.

For people saying that she sounds old and tired and more like a mother than a sister - I don’t know many mothers who give such clear eyed advice. I like that she encourages readers to take responsibility for their own thinking and actions and to
hold themselves to higher standards than they hold others. I like that she encourages collective wisdom and does not assume she has all the answers. None of us do.

We are all human and it is good she is taking time to nurture herself and her family during a difficult period.

Excellent post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lol I have noticed this too. She is constantly “away” and they post old columns.

No shade really, I mean she is clearly successful and no longer has to hustle every day all year , she can take vacations and still come back and have a popular column. Good for her. But yes I’ve noticed she is on vacation constantly. Sometimes I wonder, yeah, I’d be that level headed and generous in my dealings with others if I had 9 weeks of vacation a year too!

Yeah. Her "always take the high road" attitude is just not realistic. I find her posts kind of annoying honestly.

Jfc. We need more people reminding us to take the high road. Most of us are experts at the low road.

You’re painting quite the picture of yourself. I’ll suggest the wapo create a new weekly column just for you with suggestions for the best tricks for revenge or the best knife for a fight or the nastiest put down to toss at Claire when she brags about her kids swim team again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her Dad died. Give her a break, sheesh.

Um, ok. If my dad dies I get 3 days of bereavement leave. Of course I could take more time off and probably would to deal with his stuff, but most people don’t get/take extended leave for a parent’s death.

Hax is not most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her Dad died. Give her a break, sheesh.

Um, ok. If my dad dies I get 3 days of bereavement leave. Of course I could take more time off and probably would to deal with his stuff, but most people don’t get/take extended leave for a parent’s death.

This is such an immature post. You should be embarrassed. Admit it, you’re teenager.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her Dad died. Give her a break, sheesh.

Um, ok. If my dad dies I get 3 days of bereavement leave. Of course I could take more time off and probably would to deal with his stuff, but most people don’t get/take extended leave for a parent’s death.

This is such an immature post. You should be embarrassed. Admit it, you’re teenager.

DP - We all grieve in different ways.

Don’t know why people are bothered so much that CH needs more time to get through a difficult life event. Her profession is giving advice that lends itself to self care, self accountability and also being responsible towards loved ones and friends.

People who care for others, and that includes advice columnists as well as medical staff, hospice workers, care givers, therapists, counselors and more — need to be extra vigilant to practice good self care. It is easy to fall apart when you care for others if you do not take proper care of yourself.

Anyway it is interesting when others offer their advice in her absence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of think she needs to retire or pass the torch. I remember when she started and it was like getting advice from a friend or big sister/cousin. Now it’s like you’re getting advice from your mother or grandmother.

She is technically genx, though barely. No way she is passing this torch on until she is well and ready. She could literally write this column for years and years and will likely do so (as long as newspapers are still in existence--which is questionable once boomers hit full dementia stage).

She’s five days older than me. We’re not “barely GenX.” We ARE GenX! I have the scrape marks from freely roaming the neighborhoods and woods and anywhere else as a child in the 70s. 😬

I remember reading her first column when I was a young teacher living in a group house in Adams Morgan. Props to anyone who can pull off a gig like this. Move to the Cape, raise your kids, write some responses to some questions about your sister ruining your wedding and send them to your editor. Nice work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People read newspaper columns still?

Yes, there’s this great new thing called “the internet”, and you can read news and other content on “websites”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her Dad died. Give her a break, sheesh.

Um, ok. If my dad dies I get 3 days of bereavement leave. Of course I could take more time off and probably would to deal with his stuff, but most people don’t get/take extended leave for a parent’s death.

This is such an immature post. You should be embarrassed. Admit it, you’re teenager.

DP - We all grieve in different ways.

Don’t know why people are bothered so much that CH needs more time to get through a difficult life event. Her profession is giving advice that lends itself to self care, self accountability and also being responsible towards loved ones and friends.

People who care for others, and that includes advice columnists as well as medical staff, hospice workers, care givers, therapists, counselors and more — need to be extra vigilant to practice good self care. It is easy to fall apart when you care for others if you do not take proper care of yourself.

Anyway it is interesting when others offer their advice in her absence.

DCUM grieves by asking how much is the house worth and when is it going up on the market?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is insufferable.

In what way? I do not share that sentiment at all so am trying to see what people object to about her

NP here. People I know who know her in real life say she's incredibly controlling. It's hard for me to like her knowing that. It's like when I find out an actor I like is a jerk, I can't like them anymore.

You’re judging someone that you don’t personally know based on gossip. That doesn’t exactly make you a person people would want to be around either.