ArcaMax

I love mystery. No, not the grisly murder-mayhem crime scene. The mystery that moves me (and maybe you, too, after I make my case) is the aura, the enchantment, the spell we women can weave around our femininity. But before we get to that, I want you to know that my concept of feminine mystery has absolutely nothing to do with game playing or ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a 60-year-old single mom, and all four of my children have moved out of my house. It now feels empty, and I'm not sure what to do with myself. My children are my world, and all of my free time went to them when they lived here. Now that my youngest son has officially graduated college and is moving out and getting his own ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: How should one respond when an acquaintance asks, "Have I done something to offend you?"

I have a neighbor with whom I've tried to be friendly. Over the course of a few months, she's made unpleasant remarks, overstepped invitations to my home and insistently passed on information that I knew to be false.

For example, I had ...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister and I have always been close. We grew up sharing clothes, secrets and late-night phone calls, and for years I considered her my best friend. But lately, every conversation with her feels less like a conversation and more like a contest I never signed up to enter.

If I mention that my son made the honor roll, she ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was in an abusive relationship for 15 years that affected my children badly. I have had emotional problems since I was a child, which caused me to stay in the relationship long past the point I should have left.

My two daughters left home at 16 and 13 to live with their fathers. Both of their fathers allowed the girls to smoke and ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: On the 4th of July every year, my dear friends have a three- to four-day get-together, where families come and camp out on their property. We cook out, we all play sports and board games, we sit around the campfire and, for the grand finale, we have a huge fireworks show.

I noticed the year prior that not everyone pitched in ...Read more

Dear Annie: My soon-to-be fiancee has had an incredibly hard year. She had ankle surgery and a difficult recovery. She worked hard to get her mental health back on track. She gave up drinking for me. She also went through serious family drama after being kicked out of her aunt's house, and she had to sue to get out of the situation. She won.

...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I suspect my wife had an affair some years ago. She was spending time with this man in a local bar on weekends for quite a while. I recently confronted her with the rumors going around, and she says she did nothing wrong. When she began talking about him with me one day in her bedroom, she became very emotional and cried, telling me ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Do you think it's possible to outgrow certain people and friendships? Recently, I've been feeling like I could move on from some childhood friendships. I moved away for college, and I can't relate to some old friends who stayed in our small hometown. I'm growing at a rapid pace, living on my own in New York and navigating ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My dear mother told me that one should never clap for the speakers at Memorial Day observances, and that one should depart in silence to mark the solemnity of the occasion. At a Memorial Day event, I noticed that everyone clapped for the speakers and chatted casually at the end of the event.

Was my dear mother mistaken?

...Read more

Dear Annie: Dear Annie: My 90-year-old father has been married to his third wife, who is 85, for nearly 33 years. Between them, they have five adult children: two are his and three are hers.

For their entire marriage, they have relied largely on my father's retirement account to pay their day-to-day living expenses. His wife does not have a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After four months of dating, I asked my boyfriend if we could move in together to save on rent. He was absolutely against the idea. We've now been dating for 10 months, and he recently got a letter stating that he's about to be evicted because he hasn't paid rent for three months. Now that he is about to lose his place, he says that ...Read more

We're not southern enough to be yes, ma'am or no, sir, but I try to nudge manners into my kids' daily interactions with strangers. Today, I nudged him when I saw two women cross the parking lot and asked him to open the restaurant door. One of the women was older and one much younger, maybe a grandmother and granddaughter. The younger one smiled...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister-in-law has turned every family gathering into a courtroom, and somehow I am always the defendant.

For years, I have hosted holidays, birthdays and Sunday dinners because I genuinely love having family together. I cook, clean, set the table and try to make everyone feel welcome. But my sister-in-law has a habit of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: We're a same-sex couple, and my husband has never gotten along with my sister and her husband. The tension has grown over the 17 years they've known each other. I suspect my sister may feel competitive or even jealous of our relationship. She comes across as self-focused, while her husband is quiet and disengaged.

We see them once a ...Read more