A widow named Subjugated in Texas writes to advice columnist Dear Abby for help dealing with her financially irresponsible daughter who has faced multiple evictions and job instability over the past decade. In response, Abby advises against allowing the daughter to move in permanently and instead recommends setting a financial limit that must be used to find temporary housing while encouraging her to secure employment.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
I am a widow who lost my husband 15 years ago.
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who → lose → husband
When my husband died, we had a daughter and one grandson.
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we → die → daughter
My daughter, a single mom, later had another son.
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daughter → have → son
I have my own business and have worked hard these many years to help support my daughter, who is financially irresponsible.
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who → have → daughter
She has been evicted four times in the past 10 years, had two cars repossessed and can’t seem to keep a job for even a year.
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cars → evict → year
I need to stop helping her financially because it’s affecting my financial and mental health.
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it → need → health
She doesn’t have a job and can’t get her own place, so I feel I have no choice but to let her move in with me.
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her → have → me
I want to put a limit on how long she can stay.
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she → want → limit
What should I do?
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I → do → What
— SUBJUGATED IN TEXAS
DEAR SUBJUGATED: Do not allow your daughter to move in with you.
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daughter → subjugate → you
If she does, you will never get rid of her.
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you → do → her
Give her a certain amount of money for shelter and make it plain that she must use it to find a place to live (if only temporarily).
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she → give → place
Because it’s the last handout she’ll receive, she must get a job to support herself and her children.
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she → ’ → herself
Then let her live the life she has chosen for herself.
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she → let → herself
If you don’t, you will be your dysfunctional daughter’s prisoner until the day you die.
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you → do → day
If something broke or an error was made (for example, a worker’s hand getting caught in a machine), I’d try to identify a fix so it wouldn’t happen again.
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it → break → fix
I am now retired and still tend to approach things with the same attitude.
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I → retire → attitude
I often get frustrated when someone makes an error and there’s no corrective action, admission that a mistake was made or even a small apology.
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mistake → frustrate → error
I recently discovered an error on my financial accounts and asked the bank how this was overlooked even after I had pointed out the error prior to the account being processed.
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account → discover → error
Abby, I was completely ignored and never received any feedback.
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I → ignore → feedback
What’s the best way to ask someone for an explanation concerning what actions were taken to ensure the error does not happen again?
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error → ’ → explanation
You developed a zero-tolerance attitude toward errors because it was literally a matter of life and limb.
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it → develop → life
Outside that environment, however, you may find it helpful to remember that the stakes are not nearly so high.
uncertain
stakes → find → environment
No permanent harm came of the bank error.
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harm → come → error
You are right that it would be best if the bank reviewed its procedures to avoid future errors, but that’s their job, not yours.
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that → review → errors
Having corrected the error in a timely fashion, the bank owes you no further explanation.
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bank → correct → explanation
Trust that, in the future, they will do their best to improve without your help (but always check your statements).
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they → trust → statements
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren.
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Abby → write → Buren
For nearly four decades, Jeanne Phillips penned this column, which was founded in 1956 by her mother, Pauline Phillips.
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which → pen → mother
The Aporia
