Dear Abby: Our son is engaged to a boring person our family can’t stand

DEAR ABBY: Our son is engaged to marry a young lady our family can't stand. No matter what we are discussing, she turns the conversation to long, boring stories about her friend, her aunt, her cousin, etc. Nobody cares about these stories, and they are constant. Our two daughters and their husbands roll their eyes and limit their time with her. My husband leaves the room. Even my 95-year-old mother, who is partially deaf, can't be in her company.

Our daughters think we should tell our son not to marry her, as it is ruining our close family. He doesn't seem to notice it, seems to love her and will be hurt. Have you any suggestions? -

DEAR STUMPED MOM: If you do what your daughters are suggesting, your son is almost guaranteed to be offended and become defensive. It could very likely alienate him and his fiancee. An alternative might be for you to talk privately with your son and point out that his fiancee needs to curtail her speeches because, in case he hasn't noticed, they are so long that she has literally been losing her audience.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.