To catch your husband, bait that hook!

Dear Diane: My husband, “Mort,” and I have been married for 17 years. We have two lovely children. We live comfortably in a decent neighborhood. You’d think we have the perfect life, but there is one thing that is beginning to bother me.

Mort spends most of his time at home sitting at the computer. He’s either in a chatroom with his online “friends” or surfing the Web or playing a game — sometimes all three at once!

Mort and I used to go out on “dates” once or twice a month to get away from the kids and have some “us” time. No more.

My two children are both teenagers, and I rarely see them because they’re out with their friends or holed up in their rooms playing video games or talking online with their friends.

I feel like a stranger in my own home.

I can understand the kids — being teenagers and all — wanting their privacy and their independence, but I’d always thought that as the children got older, Mort and I would have more time to spend with each other.

What do I do? I want my man back!

— Home Alone in Altoona

Dear Alone: It’s not uncommon for a marriage to “cool down” when a couple has been together as long as you and Mort. If you want to put some spice back into your marriage, then you need to give Mort something more interesting to look at than a computer screen. In other words, if you want to catch a fish, you need to bait the hook.

Perhaps a romantic getaway weekend is just the thing you need. It’ll get you and Mort out of the house (and away from the computer).