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Her adult kids pine for more attention

Q: MY CHILDREN are 19 and 25, and I have been a great mom to them for their entire lives. I catered to their every need. Now I have an incredible man in my life, and they hate him. I want to be free of the constant complaints, "You don't spend enough time with me." I want my life back.

Q: MY CHILDREN are 19 and 25, and I have been a great mom to them for their entire lives. I catered to their every need. Now I have an incredible man in my life, and they hate him. I want to be free of the constant complaints, "You don't spend enough time with me." I want my life back.

Steve: Wow, role reversal! Generally it's the aging parent who tries to guilt-trip the kids into paying more attention to them. The solution is the same: Don't fall for it. Sounds like your kids need to grow up a bit.

Mia: If your kids were 12 and 15, I'd say they had a case. But since they are good and grown, ignore their complaints. It's not all about them anymore. Instead of worrying who mom's with, they need to get their own love lives in order. Once they do, they won't be jealous of yours.

Q: This is for Steve. In your response to the woman who was dating a man and then saw that he'd reactivated his online dating profile, you said the situation reminded you of "that bad pop song from the '70s where the guy takes out a personal ad to meet a woman and his girlfriend answers it."

You're dead on with your analogy but, in my opinion, way off with your use of the word "bad." I realize that all music, including "The Pina Colada Song," is a personal preference thing, but that song is an absolute classic.

I'm 10 years older than you, and I still love hearing it. If you're ever at a bar or anyplace where they're playing upbeat music and that song, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" comes on, practically all ages react favorably.

Steve: OK, I'll grant you that Rupert Holmes is a talented writer and musician. (His Broadway show "Drood" won a Tony in 1985.) But that tune, like the drink, is a bit too treacly for me.

Mia: It's no "Ring My Bell," that's for sure!