ArcaMax

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(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

Copyright 2026, Harriette Cole

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My daughter is again hosting Thanksgiving for my small family, plus six people who work for her husband who have no family in town. It's a total of 12 to 15 people.

About 10 days in advance, my daughter usually sends out a text asking what each of us is bringing. But when we reply with what we're making, she often responds ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are empty nesters, and we've begun the very slow process of downsizing our home. I wasn't expecting it to be so emotional. Going through decades of family memories has been harder than I imagined. I just can't believe how quickly time goes by.

I admit I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my kids. I still have ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A family member, "April," recently lost her partner. Although I deeply disliked the individual, I was able to muster an "I'm sorry" when he passed. Then, April started posting how long they'd been married. (They weren't married.) If her timeline is accurate, then he would have been with her at the state women's prison, where she was ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are both from large families, and over the years, we have worked hard to stay connected to them. We have sent all the nieces and nephews generous birthday, holiday and graduation gifts. We and several of our siblings have hosted numerous parties and holiday gatherings -- usually two or three times a year.

My ...Read more

Dear Annie: A co-worker of mine is repeatedly late -- late to meetings, late with deadlines, late to answer messages. Every time, she is over-the-top apologetic. She has some elaborate excuse (which could be true, for all I know), apologizes at length, and acknowledges how much her lateness affects me and the rest of the team. I end up in the ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My sister, "Randee," and I are experiencing a falling-out with our older brother, "Darren," which has left us hurt and confused. We come from a large, tightly knit family, and there's always some sort of celebration happening. We siblings are in our 40s and 50s, so there are also lots of nieces and nephews.

Darren and his wife ...Read more

Furniture gets nicked. Plates get chipped. But femininity damaged? That was the complaint I was hearing the other day from a man very dear to me -- my son, Scott. He was saying that so many women he's meeting are not very feminine. His words echoed many letters in my inbox these days. Out of respect for both sources, these thoughts:

Women have ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have a sidler in our family!

Whether at my house or hers, my daughter-in-law will silently sidle into a room behind me, and watch me from out of sight. I may be working in the kitchen or playing with a grandchild when I have a sudden feeling of being watched -- then I turn around and there she is, having silently walked ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 62 years old and the oldest of four siblings. For the past three years, I've been the primary caregiver for our 87-year-old mother, who has become increasingly frail and can no longer manage on her own.

I love my mother dearly, but I'm exhausted. I take her to doctor's appointments, manage her medications, buy her groceries, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 59-year-old married virgin male. My wife has an IUD for medical reasons. She thinks it's the man's job to initiate sex. She has never shown any interest in sex in nearly 20 years of marriage. I love her, but I am ready to divorce her.

I do not want to go through life without a sex life, let alone die a virgin. We have no money ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A student at the university where I teach part-time was invited to a job interview over lunch. The interviewer staged a call to the restaurant, paging the student, so the student would have to leave the table during the meal.

Our student folded his napkin loosely and placed it on the table to the left of his plate, as advised...Read more

Dear Annie, I'm 73 years old, healthy, active and still very much interested in the world around me. I exercise four days a week, love going to the theater, keep up with current events and have a better social life than I did in my 40s. Yet lately, I've noticed something that I never expected. I've become invisible.

It happens in little ways....Read more

DEAR ABBY: My adult daughter wants to confide (complain) to me about her husband -- his quirky behavior, things he does that she doesn't like, etc. -- nothing heavy or abusive. I have told her that I think it's inappropriate for her to talk to me about him, unfair to me and bad for the ongoing relationship I have with him.

Instead, she's ...Read more