ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My younger sister admitted to me that she is jealous of me and has spent her whole life trying to live up to my name. I will admit that I have been successful in life, but not without hard work. I create documentaries and have been able to travel all around the world for them. My sister works a regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job and ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My summer internship went great and I've been hired! But I'm afraid I'm going to ruin it because my boss takes new hires out to lunch at her exclusive club. I had to buy a tie, which is fine, but I just know I'll use the wrong fork. Help!

GENTLE READER: Only if you promise never again to use that meaningless cliche about the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 22, working full time in the city, and recently started dating a guy I met through a mutual friend. We've only been seeing each other for about a month, and he really is a sweetheart. The problem is, the more I get to know him, the more I wonder whether we are simply in very different places in life.

He is in his late 20s, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My middle-aged son is on the autism spectrum and has recently come back home to live with us. He left home at 19 and has always had roommates. We didn't realize that he had autism until about a year ago.

We like having him here but are having a difficult time adjusting. My son has agreed to help with bills and contribute toward ...Read more

At the gym, my trainer told me he was going to a trainers' conference in Austin. He worried that he might be both the shortest and weakest person there. I told him, "That's the room you want to be in."

It's a trope in the motivation and hustle circles that you should be finding the rooms in which you are surrounded by those who are where you ...Read more

Dear Annie: For as long as I can remember, my mother has been extremely generous with gifts, sometimes to the point of being over the top. My sister and I have always thanked her, while also telling her she doesn't need to fill our cars with presents for birthdays and holidays. Still, she continues.

Lately, though, her gift giving has started...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My best friend and I got pregnant, each with our first child, with our due dates a week apart. We felt blessed to be going through this amazing experience at the same time. Our babies are now 2 months old. I am adjusting well to motherhood. I feel it's coming naturally to me.

My friend is having the opposite experience. Ever since ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Last week, I surprised a friend of mine on her birthday because I hadn't heard from her in a couple of months. I am so glad I showed up when I did, because it seems like she needed some love. I tried to conceal my shock, but upon entry to her apartment, it was complete chaos -- clothes, groceries, empty food containers, dishes ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I received a birthday card from a newish friend in the neighborhood. The card was unsolicited, though the giver had previously asked whether a party I was throwing had something to do with my birthday, and I admitted that it did happen to fall on that day.

The card had a few scratch-off lottery tickets in it. My family ...Read more

Dear Annie: I know I am stuck in the "old ways," but I am trying to adapt to changing times. It is becoming very common for couples to live together before marriage.

While I have come to accept traditional and extravagant weddings as an occasion to finally declare their commitment before church and family, what I still struggle with are the ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I've been seeing "Brad" for nine months. We both have children of our own. He has a daughter, and I have a son. The little girl is a few months older than my 7-year-old son. I can see myself having a family with Brad.

However, one of my biggest pet peeves is when children use baby talk. Brad's daughter seems to be doing it more and ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: While my friend and I were walking, we found a wallet on the ground. My friend's first instinct was to steal the cash inside instead of trying to get it back to the owner. She is a 40-year-old woman with a well-paying job. I was shocked because I have known her for more than a decade and never would have expected her to react ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My in-laws are always asking for money or gifts.

One couple who had been living together for years -- divorced and married, employed, with a home, etc., asked for "cash only" gifts for a honeymoon for their second marriage to each other.

Another in-law asked for a piece of artwork I had created that was not monetarily ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a friend, "Rosie," who kicked me out to the curb (metaphorically speaking) when her sister moved into her mobile home park.

Prior to her sister's moving into the neighborhood, Rosie and I saw a lot of each other. I was always sewing for Rosie, her husband and her mother-in-law at little or no cost. I sent food to her after ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My friend of many years, whom I consider to truly be part of the family, has made food the only thing that makes her happy. Besides my husband, she's all I have left. She went to a doctor a couple years ago who told her she must lose weight, but she ended up gaining more.

I've tried talking to her, but she says I am preaching to the ...Read more