DR. WALLACE: My best friend and I have known each other for about seven years and we're in the 10th grade. We both have boyfriends whom we love and we confide in each other about almost everything. At times we even tend to "over-share" some details about our relationships.

Recently, my best friend lost her virginity to her boyfriend. I am still a virgin and I plan to keep it that way for a while. My boyfriend is also a virgin and I know he would like to have sex, but he respects my decision and doesn't pressure me to do anything. The problem is that when my friend told me about her new experience, I developed, on some level, a type of competitive feeling. It's a type of feeling like, "Oh, everyone's doing it, so now I have to," like I have to "keep up" with my friend. And that's something I don't normally feel because I tend not to give in to peer pressure. Part of me wants to experience sex and share it with the one I love. But the other part of me knows that I am not ready in the least.

Any advice on how to eliminate this sense of rivalry with my friend? — Nameless, Elkhart, Indiana

NAMELESS: I've been writing this column for many years and I can tell you that premarital sex has caused more couples to end relationships rather than causing the relationship to grow stronger. I have thousands of letters in my files from females who lost their virginity and soon after, lost their boyfriends. Movies, television, and even music lyrics like to make teens think that everyone is doing it. But surveys show that the majority of 16-year-old girls are still virgins.

Keep your morals high! You will be glad that you did later on.

SHE'S A GREAT MOM AND WIFE

DR. WALLACE: My mom is a wonderful lady and a great mother and wife, but she does have a very bad habit. She is always late, regardless of the occasion. This has caused me a lot of inconvenience and embarrassment. When I ask her to drive me to school, she always says yes and she always causes me to be late to my first period class. As a family, we are always late to church, late for appointments, late for sporting events, etc. We never get to my brother's baseball game until the second inning.

Last night my mother was supposed to pick my best friend and me up at the mall at 8:30. We waited outside until 9 before she showed up. First, she mislaid the car keys and then she had to get gas and that made her late.

My dad has already given up trying to get Mom to be on time. I'm about to give up as well. Do you have any suggestions? — Susan, Detroit, Michigan

SUSAN: People who are constantly late lack organization. I doubt that, at this time in your mother's life, that you will be able to change her into Ms. Punctual. She has probably been running behind since her own teenage years.

Still, she could improve. Whenever possible, remind Mom of important things that must be done so she won't be late (help her choose the clothes she will be wearing, have her start getting ready in plenty of time, and help her find her keys. You could also enlist Dad's help in getting her to be organized. But don't expect miracles.

The worst thing you can do is lay a guilt trip on her: "I'm late to school and it's your fault." That will only make her more rattled and disorganized.

If you can help her to make some changes, be very happy that, despite this one flaw, that she is a wonderful woman and a great mother and wife!

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. E-mail him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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.