ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I am very confused. I have a friend who is 70 and is in the hospital. She has put a mutual friend, "Dorothy," down as her daughter. She has a son, but he is a man-child.

Our friend Dorothy has so many obligations as it is. Dorothy and I are close, and we are similar ages. I do not have siblings, since my brother passed away at a ...Read more

Dear Annie: My longtime friend seems to be outspoken when I'm around her lately. I have a nervous habit of biting my nails, and when my friend is at my house, she yells at me to stop doing that, saying it's disgusting. It made me angry and hurt to be yelled at in my own house, but I only replied, "It's a nervous habit."

Aside from that, she ...Read more

Dear Readers: Wishing each of you a happy Easter and happy springtime. Below are some quotes for inspiration, hope and joy.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"'Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and with joy."

William Shakespeare

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

Marty Rubin

"The deep ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have eight beautiful grandchildren. I have been blessed to help care for six of them from birth to 5-6 years old. My daughter has twin 7-year-old boys. She has issues with me that I've apologized for and have given her space to work through things. I've never met my twin grandsons. I've only seen them in pictures and several ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm having an issue with my partner of six years, "Alex." I love him deeply, and he's a truly amazing guy. But we have different views on marriage.

I've always dreamed of having a traditional wedding and starting a family. I think weddings are a beautiful way to show your commitment to each other. Alex, on the other hand, is ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter is the only grandchild, and my mother gives her a gift every time we see her. I've told her several times that we don't want to overwhelm our child (3 years old) with material things, that she has too many toys she doesn't play with. It's very important to my husband and I that our child values what she has. My mother ...Read more

Dear Annie: When my nephew was a toddler and his family visited, my mom (his grandmother) got big furniture boxes discarded from stores and made forts and tunnels in our large family room. She got down on the floor and played whatever character he chose her to be in this turf maze. She didn't care if she played a dinosaur or the Lone Ranger.

...Read more

Dear Readers: We recently ran a letter from someone who complained that cashiers at grocery stores rarely thank them, the customers. I heard from many of you who have worked as cashiers at supermarkets, and I am grateful for your letters as they provide a firsthand account of the other perspective.

Below are two of those letters. The second ...Read more

Dear Annie: I could have written the letter from "Regretful," who was sad that she and her husband had left the city and moved into a rural area where she is missing out on so much that had made her life fun. For me, it's been 12 years of misery. I used to see my daughters and grandkid almost every day, and now I'm lucky if it's once a year.

...Read more

Dear Annie: My only brother is 70, two years younger than me. We've not been close or communicating for months. I still resent his failure to acknowledge my marriage years ago. He was not present at my wedding, nor did he even send a greeting card. He missed out on all the formative years of my three children, never attending their events. He ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter broke up with her boyfriend several months ago. She just recently hooked back up with him. Needless to say, I don't like him. He is spoiled and rude.

The family was planning a trip for her birthday and she asked if a female friend could come. I told her that would be OK. Now she is telling me that her girlfriend can't ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter received some lovely gifts for her quinceanera (an important milestone in Mexican and Latin American cultures that celebrates a girl's 15th birthday). Unfortunately, there were a few without cards or tags. I am not sure if the card became accidentally separated from the gift, or if there was no card or tag in the first ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband is a hypochondriac. It is so very hard living with him. Every time he hears of someone in our family coming down with an illness, he claims he has it. He is a healthy man and perfectly able-bodied. I get disgusted when he takes a handicapped spot next to a store when I know he doesn't need it.

During the height of the ...Read more

Dear Readers: A recent column about the caregiver who felt worn out prompted a deluge of letters, mostly from others who are, or have been, caregivers themselves. As I read the letters, I thought of the fact that airlines tell mothers to put on their own oxygen masks first and then help their children. Here is a sampling of the letters we ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter is 8 years old and was recently diagnosed with autism. She was just diagnosed at age 7, but I have suspected she is autistic since about age 3 when she used to be severely speech-delayed. Over the years, I had suggested she was autistic to my husband several times, and his responses were things like, "She's just a ...Read more

Dear Annie: My parents have had property for many, many years. This property was to be divided among us kids upon their death.

My father passed away, which puts my mother in charge of everything.

Recently, we found out that she gave ALL this property to one of our siblings.

We were always a close-knit family, but this has caused a huge rift...Read more

Dear Readers: Happy St. Patrick's Day. Here are some famous and uplifting Irish blessings to add a little sunshine to your day.

An Old Irish Blessing for St. Patrick's Day

"May your days be many and your troubles be few. / May all God's blessings descend upon you. / May peace be within you, may your heart be strong. / May you find what you'...Read more

Dear Annie: Our granddaughter had been on drugs for several years. She had been in and out of jail and rehabs. She had two children, ages 1 and 2. She basically abandoned them, so we all decided tough love and prayer were the answer.

She was found by the side of the road where someone dumped her, dead or dying from a drug overdose. Now we all...Read more

Dear Annie: Please give me your opinion. I am an 84-year-old widow. I have one child, a son, and one grandchild in town. My other children live hours away. I no longer drive. I am financially independent and have someone to come clean twice a month, drive me to run errands, go to the doctor, do grocery shopping and take me to the beauty shop. ...Read more

Dear Annie: It has recently come to my attention that my middle adult son has molested my adult daughter when she was 8 years old. She broke down and told me tearfully last week.

She is now 23, and he is 31. And I am completely at a loss of how I should feel, think, react. I'm basically an emotional wreck. He is married with four children (...Read more