Dear Abby: My live-in boyfriend is a total ditz when it comes to challenges. He claims it’s because he’s a city boy, but I think it’s just plain laziness. When something needs to be repaired, he looks the other way and expects me to be “Miss Fix-It.” It doesn’t matter what’s wrong — the car, the washer, plumbing, even issues with bills. It becomes my job.

I want him to challenge himself sometimes. I’ve never known a man who won’t venture into something that’s not familiar. Is there anything I can say or do to let him know I want him to help, or am I stuck with a male damsel in distress? — Role-Reversal in Bridgeport, Conn.

Dear Role-Reversal: I’m sure you have told your boyfriend more than once that you want him to help. If he is as lacking in mechanical and organizational ability as you have implied, perhaps it’s better that you be the fixer than have him destroy whatever needs to be repaired.

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