DR. WALLACE: An interesting disagreement has cropped up in our family home. Every year, our family has a group discussion, and we decide where we're going to go on vacation and how long we'll be gone. The last two summers, we've had fantastic vacations that everyone truly enjoyed immensely.

Also, for the past several years, our mother has constantly been requesting funds to get new dining room furniture, which is absolutely in dire need of an upgrade for sure. At this year's initial vacation discussion, my mom brought this fact up and thought we should forgo a vacation this summer so that we could finally get this upgrade accomplished. I tend to agree with her, but my two older brothers and my father are all revved up to go on a vacation that will involve boating, fishing and hiking in and around several state parks around the country.

Do you feel it's a big enough deal, especially considering my mother's patience, that we should cancel our family vacation this summer to finally accomplish the needed furniture upgrade? — Girls Say Yes, Guys Say No, via email

GIRLS SAY YES, GUYS SAY NO: I think you made it a bit easier for me by mentioning that your last two summer vacations were spectacular. Your mother has been very patient regarding this issue, so I feel the best solution would be to come up with a compromise. Hopefully she can find some good summer sales and discounts to find exactly what she needs at the most reasonable price possible. Then your family could still go on a shorter vacation, perhaps somewhere a bit closer to home, so that the allocated budget can be stretched to accomplish both goals this summer.

This might also provide a tremendous motivator for your brothers to go out and earn some extra summer money immediately over the next three to four weeks. If they can come up with some ideas and hustle, perhaps they can drum up some extra cash, and you can focus some time with your mother in looking for the best possible purchases of what is needed at the most advantageous price for your family. Many situations in life can be resolved amicably via compromise, and to me this particular one in your family household qualifies as such.

I WITNESSED MY BROTHER'S BIZARRE WALK HOME

DR. WALLACE: In our part of the country, the schoolyear doesn't end until mid-June, and it can't come soon enough for me! I'm really looking forward to the summer because I got my driver's license and have been allowed to drive to and from my high school every day the past month and a half.

I noticed my little brother, who's almost 11, walking home from his elementary school yesterday, and his body language and actions were beyond curious. He of course didn't know I was in a vehicle behind him, so I slowed down and pulled over to keep watching to see what the heck he was doing. He was walking in a really stealthy way and looking around nervously with his head going in both directions, as if he was afraid of something or afraid of being caught or seen walking past the particular street he was walking down. Once he got far enough ahead of me, I slowly drove forward and then pulled over again so that I could keep watching.

He did this all the way home until he finally turned the corner where our house is, then he stopped acting in such a stealthy manner. I waited five minutes before I pulled into our driveway so that he wouldn't suspect anything in terms of me being behind him.

I've been thinking hard about what may have been going on with him, and my question to you is, should I say anything directly to him or to my parents about what I witnessed? Or should I just ignore it since he got home fine? — His Actions Were Extremely Peculiar, via email

HIS ACTIONS WERE EXTREMELY PECULIAR: Yes, I feel you should speak up regarding this situation. Even if it turns out to be something insignificant or innocuous, you still owe it to yourself, your family and especially your little brother to speak up in case he's in any danger or has a problem that your family does not know about.

You should speak to your parents immediately and tell them exactly what you told me, and be prepared to openly and honestly answer any questions that come your way. From there, it's your parents' responsibility to speak to your little brother and sit down with him to find out what is going on. If you don't want to be identified as the person who saw him, your parents could simply say that it was brought to their attention by an individual who witnessed his behavior.

Hopefully it turns out to be nothing major in any way, but allowing this to go unchecked is not a good option, given that there could be something wrong or nefarious that caused him to act in that manner.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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