Dear Queenie,
I retired from my job recently and my wife and I like to take it easy in the morning now that I don’t have to get up early to go to work. Sometimes we sleep fairly late and sometimes when we get up we eat breakfast first and don’t get dressed until later on.
The problem is a friend of ours, also recently retired, who has a habit of dropping in on us without calling ahead. I guess he is still accustomed to getting up early and can’t change his ways. But sometimes he catches us before we have gotten dressed for the day and it’s embarrassing.
Queenie, how do we tell him to call first and let us know he is coming without being rude to him?—Sleepyheads
Dear Sleepyheads,
Your friend is being rude to just drop in on you without first letting you know he is coming. I see no reason to worry about being rude to him.
However, it would not be rude for you to tell him when he arrives that it is not convenient for you to visit with him just then and to suggest that he come back at whatever time you would find more convenient. It also would not be rude to ask him (as pleasantly as you can manage) to call ahead in the future to let you know he is planning to come by.
