ArcaMax

Here, in the never-married section of the survey, responses are worth an extended reading because this is a population rarely polled -- and even more rarely in full voice. So think a bit about this group's words as you add your own:

--Have you chosen not to marry because you want to grow as a person first? (About 58 percent said no.)

--Do you ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My partner and I decided to take a break because I felt consistently unheard in our relationship. No matter how many times I tried to express my needs, it seemed like they never truly landed, and I reached a point where I needed distance for my own emotional well-being. Now something heartbreaking has happened: His father passed ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We went to breakfast this morning with four people total, and I informed the waitress beforehand that we'd like separate, individual checks. One of the participants piped up when I said that, saying that he'd like one single bill instead.

I assumed he meant that he would take care of the entire bill for all four of us. I ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother-in-law is 81 and a widow. She currently lives alone. Her health is declining, and she has been talking about wanting my husband and me to move in with her and "take care of her and the house." She is adamantly against moving into assisted living or anything similar. I already cook meals and take them to her weekly. I help ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I stopped having sexual relations eight years ago. She keeps our two grandchildren 11 to 12 hours a day, five (and sometimes six) days a week. (That's 60 to 70 hours.) By the time they're picked up, she's irritated, agitated, frustrated and wants to be left alone. She doesn't want to talk or spend any time with me. She can...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My parents are coming to visit me for Christmas in New York City, and I really wanted to do something nice for them by booking an Airbnb or hotel so they could have their own space and be comfortable. I tried to plan everything myself to make the visit special, but I ended up waiting too long. Now the prices are sky-high -- ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: How does one handle being offered alcohol when you choose not to drink?

I got a DUI 2 years ago, and I will NEVER drink and drive ever again. I've been in numerous situations where I've declined a kind offer of a drink, but have been pestered as to why.

Out for a happy hour with co-workers, I will just drink water, but I ...Read more

Dear Annie: In 2010, I discovered that my husband of 47 years had been in touch with a woman who he had a long and intimate relationship with before we met. She had a child three months before we met and wanted him to marry her but he refused because he had learned that she was also intimate with someone else at the same time.

When I confronted...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are retired and happy. Each of us was married before. We're not rich, but we get by without help from anyone. We have been blessed with a big family. Between us, we have six children, 15 grandchildren and a great grandchild. This does not include the in-laws, because quite a few of these offspring are now married.

I ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been struggling with chronic fatigue for way too long. After the pandemic, I spent about four years working strictly from home. It had its pros and cons -- one of those cons being me struggling to maintain normal energy outside of my home. I guess I am no longer used to the hustle and bustle of commuting and being on high ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What do you think about employers who let their children come around the workplace to sell goodies to their employees? And worse yet, what about when the boss himself escorts his child around the building to sell stuff?

Yeah, I know, it's always for a good cause, but isn't that putting people on the spot, and not in very good...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm at a stage in my life where personal growth has taken hold in the absence of my husband. My husband is still here and alive, but he frequently travels for work, and I am often left to my own devices for days at a time as a stay-at-home mom of two young boys. I've taken to calling these days "idle time," as if the engine of our ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: We have a mutual friend who's very dear to us. He's a kind-hearted and generous disabled vet who's too proud to ask for help. Unfortunately, due to his ill health and physical limitations, his home is unkempt. He lives among piles of dusty trash, empty cartons, unfinished projects, dirty clothes and even animal messes. It smells very ...Read more

The refrain I repeated to my daughter was that, much like filling in eyebrows with makeup, the wings lined onto each eye she was "crashing out" over could be sisters, not twins. They don't need to be identical. "But again, let's tone it down in the future. That liner isn't really a day look."

It could be a controversial take to let her ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I love each other very much, but we have grown apart for a while now. I've done my best to be a good and loving wife, yet it seems to be hard for him to give me physical affection. He says he loves me and doesn't want to be without me, yet we physically seem to be 1,000 miles away.

I try to be affectionate, but it ...Read more