Taking a vacation from wife's family is OK

DEAR AMY: I'm a married man in my early 40s. My wife and I really make an effort to live within our means. We don't have cable TV, we drive older cars that are paid for and we have no debt other than our house. The current economy and these financial choices do not leave much time or money for extravagant vacations. Because my wife misses her family, we fly 2,000 miles to visit her folks twice a year. Am I out of place to think that we should skip a year and have a family vacation somewhere else, such as Yellowstone, or I stay home and let her visit her folks with the kids? But why should I be alone for two weeks just because after 10 years I'd like to do something else with my vacation? My wife and I argued about this, and now her parents have agreed to pay for our plane tickets. I'm still not happy.Frustrated Father

DEAR FRUSTRATED: This isn't really about money. This is about you not wanting to spend every single vacation with your in-laws. I'm on your side. Your wife should spend time with her family, but you two have a family together, and you also should develop vacation experiences with your kids.

You visit your in-laws twice a year. So next year, visit them once as a family and then do something different with your children. You also should invite these grandparents to visit your home. Try doing things differently next year.

DEAR AMY: I think your answer to "Jimmy" regarding his friend who is constantly texting and answering the phone when they are together is incomplete. The easiest way for him to make his point is to text her when she is fiddling with her phone at the table and tell her to turn it off or he is leaving. If she refuses, he should leave. She will quickly decide which is more important, and if she chooses her phone, he hasn't lost much.A Reader