Dear Mary: I'm fed up of my adult son's constant stream of girlfriends- should I ask him to come to an upcoming family wedding alone?

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Mary O'Conor

Question: Our son is in his 40s and has never married and settled down, much to our disappointment. Instead, there has been a steady stream of women throughout his life. We are guaranteed to meet a new one every Christmas and Easter, and any other family occasions we celebrate throughout the year. We have always gone out of our way to be welcoming and friendly in the hope that each new one will be the one. We would love to see him married with a family.

For some reason, meeting his girlfriends has become more challenging over the years. As the women have gotten older, they have acquired more baggage and issues. I am not talking about children, we would welcome step-grandchildren, and feel our son would benefit from taking on the responsibility. But they seem bogged down with financial issues, work problems and health challenges. I am always amazed by how open they all are about their lives. The younger women aren’t a walk in the park either. Not least because our son behaves much younger than he is when he is in their company. It’s wearing and very disheartening.