DEAR MISS MANNERS: I came home from work one evening and found my daughter on the phone, so I passed her a note. She immediately said, “I am on the phone, Dad.”

I was upset by this response, and asked who she was talking to — to make sure I didn’t interrupt anything important — but it happened to be her boyfriend.

Am I overreacting, or she was she wrong to say that?

GENTLE READER: Was she wrong to remind you that she was on the phone — and that your note was therefore an interruption, even if not a verbal one? Or was she wrong to tell you who was on the other end?

No and, judging by your reaction, yes.

Miss Manners cannot answer your leading question about overreacting, as it presupposes your daughter’s guilt. But she can point out that if your daughter is old enough to have a boyfr

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