Dear Nat: My parents are divorced, and my mother is Christian and my father is Jewish. I recently converted to Christianity because it is a religion I feel strongly about. My father and I have a close relationship, but I have to hide my religion from him because he is anti-Christian. Keeping this a secret is a burden on me, but I’m afraid he won’t respect me if I tell him. What should I do?

— Christian in the Closet
Dear Christian: Message to your dad — don’t expect a carbon copy of yourself in your child because your offspring only holds half your genes!
Ol’ Pop needs to realize that marrying someone of a different faith and raising kids without any specific religious identity leads to only a 50/50 chance of his children choosing his spiritual side when then grow up. Unless kids are raised under one primary religion, they are going to make their own spiritual decisions later on, sans parental influence.
How heavy of a burden is this? If you think the first time your religion will be out in the open is when you get married and you want to have your wedding in a church, keep your lips zipped for now and spare any extra years of remorse from your dad.
But if you’ve been sneaking around every Sunday morning or feel close to exploding during every moment spent with him, slowly ease the cat out of the bag. Approach him with, “Dad, it’s really important for me to devote myself to one religion. How would you feel if I decided to become Christian?” If he protests, explain that it was his choice to put you in this confusing situation.
However, spilling undesired secrets to parents is always risky if they’re supporting you financially. Is there any chance of your father being so appalled that he would cut you off? If so, I would suggest doing your worshipping on the sly until you’re on your own. In any case, if being a Christian brings fulfillment to your life, don’t let Dad’s close-mindedness cast a shadow over your spirituality.
Dear Nat: I’m a 23-year-old female graduating this spring, and I’ve been having recurring dreams about weddings! In the most recent one, I was running around a mall in a wedding dress frantically looking for underwear for my wedding night, but I couldn’t find any. Can you decode this for me?

— Bride by Night
Dear Bride: After scouring several dream dictionaries on the Web and at Waldenbooks, I’ve discovered this wedding plot is perfectly appropriate for your current life situation. A wedding
symbolizes the death of your current life and the birth of a new one. This likely represents the dramatic differences you will soon face post-graduation. Nighttime wedding images also mean commitment, and the fact that your wedding did not run smoothly could mean you are wary of commitment. Re-examine your current serious engagements, such as with relationships or employers, to make sure they are right for you.
Lastly, don’t be disappointed that you never found any undergarments in your dream. You wouldn’t be wearing them for long on your wedding night, anyway!