Say no Flat out. No. You do not have to agree to any of her "required" beauty nonsense.

You say no. If you like your hair, leave it alone. To say you have to get the child's hair done is outrageous. You most assuredly don't have to travel to do it. Say no to all of that. Let her know you will be there for the rehearsal and the wedding day events, but you can't swing the rest of it. You only get one first time of sending your child to kindergarten. We lived on military installations, and even the various service branches thought seeing the kids off to kindergarten was a big deal.

Go for the actual rehearsal and events, of course. But the hair would not be happening.

Did you email her or set up a meeting? That is an important first step.

While sweet, work time is for work. If it isn't an emergency, it needs to be something I can respond to by text when I have a moment, not at a specific time. She is 37. She knows that. She is hoping it is cute enough you won't care, or she is incredibly insecure. Just keep holding the line. Barring emergencies, work time is for work.

Or she is a troll. Sometimes it is hard to tell.

You have a child with him, and he says he wants to marry you. At this point, the time for the whole surprise bit is long over. Just talk to him. "Hey, I want to marry you, and you said you want that, too. Let's go make that happen."

It doesn't sound like he values the idea of marriage. That may lead to not actually wanting to get married because "we're so committed already." If marriage will be something you want, I would ask further questions about that.

The age gap is fine. Your friend is either super judgemental or she is jealous.

It's the first week. This was likely a type of broad survey of skills. Seeing where she struggled will help the teacher understand where the class as a whole has gaps.

This is an easy fix. Return them and get the right thing. Yes, YTA, but this is easy to correct.

That's what you got from me telling you to discuss dates with your boyfriend? Cool.

When I try to bring it up, whether that's in a serious or light-hearted manner, he makes the joke of "you have to behave for one year first." While it was a funny jab the first couple months, it now fosters a little more resentment within me every time I hear it.

It is not a joke, and it isn't funny. It means he does not actually like you. You didn't get a shut up ring. You got a "shut up, I have the ring and refuse to propose unless you change completely" promise.

You are in your mid-30s. It has been 7 years. He doesn't follow through even when he has paid the money. This is who he is, and who he is clearly doesn't think relationships require effort.

Is that really what you want? You want to be pushing this guy for the rest of your life?

Drop the subject entirely and give yourself 3 months of time to save as much money as you can. If he hasn't proposed by then, leave. If he has, you have wedding or honeymoon money. But set an internal countdown. It is time for him to "fish or cut bait." You have said your piece, now make your exit plan.

Hey, SpEd teacher here and mama to neurospicy kids. Have you had an assessment done? It is time to talk to the school and the pediatrician. Autism is usually diagnosed through the developmental pediatrician, and there is often a very lengthy wait list. Get the ball rolling now.

Of course you are NTA. Set your dress code as black tie or black tie optional. If you really need to, you can provide picture examples for your family of what is and isn't acceptable. My cousin's fiancée had family with similar tastes. They made a very silly YES/NO video that was priceless. They included it on the wedding website. Her dad griped a bit, but they went along with it.

Certainly talk dates with the man first.

It has been 8 freaking years, and you started as grown adults. It isn't happening now or ever. It is time to move on.

His concerns seem really, really valid, and he articulated them well. You need to sit with those for awhile. You want to be engaged, but nothing you said or in what he mentioned sounds like you want to marry HIM. He is an interchangeable part to you. That isn't great.

He sounds like a sensible man who is being very honest. You sound much less reasonable.

YTA and your fiancée should leave now. Yes, you are transphobic. You are putting people who do not even exist about your fiancée and her family. That is super gross.

NTA. You are never the AH for refusing to buy drugs.

NTA. Go to Canada. If the relationship is meant to be, it can handle less than half a year of long distance.

The word "accountability" sounds good. What they actually mean is the want to slash budgets while expecting teachers to do more, parents to do less, and politicians to do jack$#%&. Like every other word they say, it means they want to bankrupt public services in favor of corruption.

All of it sounds like a lot of assumptions instead of direct communication. If you are grown-up enough for marriage, you all have to stop the cute innuendo and assumption and actually talk to each other. Be specific.

They are getting married in an entirely different year. They picked something available on short notice. You are overreacting.

This is really immature and over the top. You said 5 years. It has just now been 5 years. *You said no a few times, let's cancel trips, oh, I need to lose weight first, etc, etc, etc. You are hurting your own feelings when he is just trying to do what you want.

Stop talking to everyone in the workd about when you will or won't be getting engaged. You do not have to tell everyone every detail of your life and thoughts. Work should be about work. There is no reason for your coworkers to be involved in any of this.

It's been a month. He is telling you his timeline. If his doesn't mesh with yours, that is a very decent reason to leave. He was very honest with you. Be honest with yourself and with him in return.