Ask Tia Juana

     Tia Juana will cheerfully provide advice for anyone that asks.  Just mail your questions to “Ask Tia Juana” at PO Box 8, Van Horn, Texas 79855.  All questions will remain anonymous unless there is a chance for extortion.  Disclaimer:  Tia Juana is not a licensed counselor or therapist and none of the advice should be considered professional.

Dear Tia,

I am a 40-year-old female with no kids.  I share an office with an older woman who just became a grandmother for the first time and now, I am subjected to thousands of pictures of the “wonder baby!”  I have to pretend to show interest in the baby drooling, the baby sleeping, the baby eating, the baby every second of the day.  I find myself running out of things to say after each picture after a hundred “how cute” and “awwwwwww’s.”  It is so bad, that I picture myself beating her with her iPhone to make it stop.  Please help!

If I wanted to see pictures of babies I would have one

Dear If,

I am also baffled by the idea that people think that the world revolves around their babies or worse, grandbabies, to the extent that they find it hard to talk about anything else.  Unfortunately, this phenomenon can continue for years, and will include pictures of the baby doing incredible and unique things like eating, toilet training and walking!  The arrival of a second grandchild sometimes will slow down the picture floods, but sometimes, the grandmother will then obsess about BOTH kids.  Be grateful that Grandma does not bring the kids to work for you to adore in person.  Another tactic is to always remember things that have to be done when the daily picture show starts…going to the bathroom, forgetting something at home, remembering an important phone call, etc.  She will eventually get the hint…or in severe cases, she’ll just wait till it’s time for lunch, in which case it’s time to bring out pictures of your cat, dog or hamster for her to see.  Good luck!

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