There are too many excellent advice columns to keep up with, so we're committed to bringing you links to the best advice column questions and answers every week. Here's a roundup of the most interesting, thought-provoking and surprising questions that our favorite columnists addressed in recent days.

How Can I Stop My Husband From Asking Our Neighbors To Pay For The Minor Car Damage Incurred When They Saved Our Baby's Life?

My husband "Lance" and I have a 10-month-old daughter, "Isabelle." Last month we had a near-tragedy when Lance came home with Isabelle from daycare. Shortly after he pulled into the driveway he was distracted by a phone call from work and came into the house and forgot Isabelle inside the car. It was over 95 degrees outside. By some miracle, our next-door neighbor's 13-year-old daughter "Aubrey" was in her front yard and saw Lance pull up. From what Aubrey told me, she went and got a hedge trimmer her dad had borrowed from us and came over to return it. While walking past the car, she spotted Isabelle in her car seat. She tried to open the doors, but they were locked. She dropped the trimmer, rushed to our front door, and rang the doorbell repeatedly. I had just gotten out of the shower and was toweling off and couldn't answer it. I later learned my husband was still on the phone in his office and had ignored it.

When Aubrey didn't get a response, she ran back to the car and used the trimmer to smash open a window and got Isabelle out. Isabelle was unconscious by then and Aubrey rushed her inside her house to her mother, who is a nurse. I only became aware of what was transpiring when I came downstairs and heard Aubrey's 10-year-old brother "Alex" pounding on our door and yelling for me and my husband. I opened up and was told by a terrified Alex what happened. We rushed over to my neighbor's to find Isabelle lying on their kitchen floor as Aubrey and her mother worked to cool her down with cold compresses and a portable fan. After several terror-filled minutes, Isabelle woke up and began to cry just as the ambulance arrived. Isabelle spent the night in the hospital for observation, but thankfully was all right and able to go home the next day. The doctor said had she been in the car 10 minutes longer she likely would not have survived. I gave my husband hell for what happened to Isabelle and he has been nothing but remorseful. But here's the part that truly has me seeing red.

Lance's car is customized and he treasures it. The car was a gift from his parents for his birthday. When Aubrey was breaking out the window, she put some dents in the frame and a big scratch in the paint on the door. We have insurance and only ended up with our deductible out of pocket plus around $1,000. Lance is insisting we have Aubrey's parents reimburse us for it. I cannot believe this. Their daughter saved my baby's life (she even cut her arm in the process and needed stitches!) after my husband forgot about her and he wants Aubrey's parents to cover the damn deductible! I have told him this is disgusting and that if there is anyone to blame for the damage to his precious car, it's him for putting our daughter in this situation. His response is that Aubrey's dad makes a lot of money so they can easily afford it. He said he is willing to give Aubrey's parents a chance to pay us before he takes them to court. I am sickened by the prospect and have told him so, but he won't budge. What can I do to make him see reason?

[Slate]

Jenée Desmond-Harris asks the letter writer if their husband is behaving uncharacteristically or if he's always this vindictive and unreasonable. "If he became your ex-husband, and you told the story you shared in this letter, with no additional information, everyone would understand exactly why you were no longer together," she writes. Read the rest of her answer.

Can You Believe My Cousin Announced Her Pregnancy Three Weeks After I Announced Mine, Just To Compete With Me?

I grew up with my first cousin almost like she is my sister. Her house was two blocks away from mine. We were born two weeks apart, went to the same schools growing up, were in marching band together in high school, went to the same college, met our future husbands and got married within months of each other.

So you could say we have this kind of competition thing, because when I say we did all these things at almost the same time, sometimes she was first, sometimes it was me, but the other one of us was always right behind the other on purpose.

I found out I was pregnant in early April and three weeks later, guess what? She told me she too is pregnant. She said they had been planning this, but I say she can't stand for me to beat her at anything.

Up until she heard I was pregnant, she told everyone she wanted to wait five years after getting married to start a family. Now she says I got pregnant at three and a half years in just to beat her, and I think she got pregnant now to not let me be the only one with a baby.

Can you believe anyone would get pregnant just to compete?

[UExpress]

Susan Writer points out that it is normal for people to reach milestones around the same time as their peers. "Rather than looking sideways at your cousin, it might be a good idea to step back and review your own choices and why you've made the ones you have," she writes. "Deciding to do something for its own sake, rather than as part of a game of one-upmanship is a healthier life strategy in my opinion." Read the rest of her answer.

Is It OK To Send A Poem To A Guy I've Been On One Date With?

I've only been out with this guy once, but I really like him. I'm unsure if he likes me. Is it OK to send him a poem after we've only been out once?

[UExpress]

Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, the writers behind the Miss Manners persona, urge the letter writer to keep it light. "She advises you to avoid anything that might make him think the last line should be, '... And now I'm stalking you,'" they write. Read the rest of their answer.

How Can I Get A Woman Whom I Dumped Shortly After We Had Sex To Stop Telling Our Friends She Slept With Me Too Soon?

I met a cool woman out at a party with mutual friends. We exchanged numbers and went out a few times. We ended up sleeping together after the third time (by which point we had not discussed anything about any kind of long-term intentions). Around then, I began to gather that she is looking for a boyfriend, and I knew I didn't want to be him. We're just not compatible in that way.

Now she is going around telling people (the same mutual friends, including another woman I am potentially interested in) that I cut things off with her because she "slept with me too soon." That could not be further from the truth; I don't care about that at all. It's really just that I don't like her enough to take things any further.

I feel like I need to set the record straight but don't want to make myself into any more of a cad than I think she is already making me sound like?

[The Washington Post]

Some of Carolyn Hax's readers argue that the letter writer's own version of events does not make him look great. "Do you care about making amends with this really cool girl, or do you just want to make sure other women in the friend group aren't discouraged from sleeping with you quickly?" writes one of them. "If you want to be on good terms with her, then try apologizing for being selfish and not thinking about her feelings." Read the rest of their answers.

What's The Best Way To Confess To My Married Colleague That I Have Feelings For Her?

I have been employed at this local government agency for years and have had the pleasure of working closely with "Catie" for the past four years. While we are not in the same department, we have collaborated on numerous projects and have developed a close friendship.

Over the course of our friendship, I have come to care deeply for Catie. I have hinted at my feelings on occasion, and she has been receptive to them. However, I have never taken any physical advances, as we are both happily married.

Recently, I have been feeling dishonest with her by not directly discussing my feelings for her. I believe that it is important to be open and honest with her about what I have been going through, and I would like to make a confession to her in order to clear my mind and conscience.

I hope that you can provide me with some guidance on how to approach this situation in a respectful manner.

[Creators]

Annie Lane advises the letter writer to start being honest with their spouse instead of Catie. "If you really want to clear your conscience, drop the work crush and start focusing on your 'happy marriage,'" she writes. Read the rest of her answer.

Should I Report My Favorite Local Restaurant For Tax Evasion Because Their Lunch Specials Are Cash Only?

My neighborhood Chinese restaurant has excellent set meals, which are discounted by one-third for weekday lunch sittings only. The best of their soups are heavenly affairs, being of a better standard than the famed offerings I have enjoyed at Singapore's hawker stall centers. These lunch specials are cash-only deals; I suspect that tax evasion could be the incentive for the owners. Such financial misdemeanors mean substantially reduced tax payments needed for community services. Reporting the restaurant to the authorities risks the establishment being forced to close, with the best-case scenario being a warning and a hefty fine. I am worried about losing our neighborhood ''meal ticket'' if I report the owners. What is your take on this matter?

[The New York Times]

Kwame Anthony Appiah encourages the letter writer to eat elsewhere if the restaurant's policies bother them. "Australia has a decent number of tax inspectors, the restaurant's cash-only policy isn't a secret and, for all you know, the restaurant is simply trying to avoid credit-card processing fees," he writes. Read the rest of his answer.

Read last week's column here.