Dear Amy: My husband and I have been married for 10 years. We both have adult children from previous marriages.

My husband isn't as close with his children as I am with mine. We connect through text or phone calls almost daily. My husband believes this is excessive.

I try to explain to him that my children grew up in a close family, and we remain close. I think we should be glad that they like us and want to spend time with us.

I have recently retired. My husband is still working. He travels about twice a month. When he goes out of town, I take the opportunity to see my children.

This upsets my husband. He says, "Why do you always have to go somewhere or do something when I go out of town? Why can't you just stay home?"

When I asked why this bothers him, he claimed that it was because "it costs money." We are not struggling financially, my kids always pay their own way, and most of the time I'm just spending time with them in their homes.

I finally told him that this is his problem, and he needs to get over it because I am not doing anything wrong. But nothing has changed. Am I missing something?

Amy says: It's one thing for your husband to try to limit your time with your children when he is around, but his desire to also control whom you see when he is away is completely ridiculous, over the top, and concerning.

Your husband's perspective might be that he would like for the two of you to spend more of your "together-time" socializing with people who are closer to your own age and stage in life. If so, then he should work harder to develop these friendships.

And unless your daily phone and texting contact with your children is obsessive, damaging or taking your attention away from your duties, hobbies and friendships or unduly interfering with your marriage, then it simply is not his business.

Close and intimate marriages thrive when spouses place the marriage at the center of their lives, but it's a simple fact that your relationship with your children is longer standing, lifelong and unique.

One way for your husband to honor his marriage to you would be for him to love and respect the kind of parent you are. Because this is an ongoing issue, you would both benefit from talking it out with the aid of a counselor.

Girlfriend is demanding

Dear Amy: I've been with my girlfriend "Crissy" for almost two years. We live together and are in our mid-20s.

We both have been working and have been able to pay our expenses and even save a little money toward getting a better apartment.

Crissy quit her job just before Christmas because she felt the environment was toxic and she basically hated her job. I don't blame her. I would have hated her job, too.

Unfortunately, she quit before she had looked for a new job. Now it is more than three months later, and she hasn't looked at all. We have gone through our savings, and I can just barely pay our expenses.

Crissy now says that she would like to be a "stay-at-home girlfriend." She doesn't want to work. I am not sure what to do. Any ideas?

Amy says: A lot of us would like to be a "stay-at-home" girlfriend or boyfriend. But life does not work that way.

Chrissy is not a good partner. Furthermore, she doesn't want to be a good partner. I think it's time to break up.

Send questions to Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com.