ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My parents have traveled to be at two of my nephew's graduations. When he graduated with his bachelor's degree years ago, they were front and center. When he graduated with his master's degree this year, they were front and center. I don't understand why they cannot do the same with my children. Both of my kids have graduated ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I've always had difficulty with making conversation and verbalizing my ideas. Even though I've worked in a management position in a professional office, chatting just doesn't come easy to me. It has been suggested that I might have Asperger's.

More times than I can remember, I've been told "You're so quiet!" -- either alone ...Read more

Dear Annie: What started out as a friendly gesture to help a neighbor's family and pets during an emergency has somehow turned into our obligation to be their "service people" in noncritical situations. Now there are frequent requests to pet-sit or dog walk, even coupled with checking in on their fully functioning live-in relative while they ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband of 20 years has had DUIs in the past. He has always been a binge drinker when socializing. He has been going out once a week after work for three hours, during which he drinks and then drives home. He tells me he has a couple beers, but his tab and his face tell a different story.

We have three teenagers who see his ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father and I have never had the best relationship. He was domineering, controlling and verbally abusive to me as a teenager, and as a result, I rebelled and did things specifically to irritate him. Several times, he kicked me out of the house, saying I forced him to behave the way he did. I always apologized because it was easier ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I asked my husband to go to therapy with me, and you would have thought I had told him the Earth is flat. He looked at me incredulously and shook his head. He used to go to therapy before we met -- for years! I thought of him as a progressive person, as someone who is proactive about taking care of himself, inside and out. But ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband often compliments ladies -- young or old, married or single -- by saying how beautiful their hair is, or how nice their dress is, or that he likes the color.

Some get offended, and some even believe he's hitting on them, when he's merely paying compliments. What is the appropriate way to compliment today?

GENTLE ...Read more

Dear Annie: I would like to reply to "An Aging Adult Facing Reality." I, too, have profound hearing loss and have been wearing hearing aids since the age of 10. Since receiving my first set of hearing aids, the advancements in technology have been staggering.

My main frustration with hearing aids these days is that medical insurance rarely ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have recently discovered that for the last seven years -- or more -- my husband has been lying to avoid conflict. What he has been lying about greatly upsets me, but knowing he has lied about these things makes it worse than finding out the truth at the time things happened.

The lies are about his relationships with his female "...Read more

Dear Annie: After more than 40 years of devotion to my husband, I have finally realized what a stonehearted jerk he is. I have done everything in my power to love, respect and encourage him. But I've fallen into a pattern of picking up the pieces of my heart and overlooking my own hurt in order to give him another chance and keep peace in our ...Read more

The first two promised they wouldn't cry, but they did. One of those who spoke through tears explained that she started her doctorate degree when her son was 3; he was 8 now. That morning, she said, he had asked her if she would become a doctor that day. She told him yes, today was the day she'd become a doctor. The audience cooed their delight....Read more

Dear Annie: I am writing in response to "Survivor of Domestic Violence," who is not sure how much to reveal about her prior relationship on dates. I'm 63 and was in an abusive marriage for 28 years. I finally had the courage to leave and break this cycle. My mother and I were both beaten by my father. I didn't understand what respect was. My ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband's job brings him a great deal of unhappiness, but he doesn't want to quit. He has been a high school Spanish teacher for 13 years. It's the only career he's ever known. There have always been ups and downs, but the problems over the past few years seem to be that the majority of kids at his school, and the school ...Read more

Dear Annie: My brother and sister and I had an amazing childhood. Our parents stressed the importance of hard work and education. The three of us got advanced degrees, and my sister and I entered the workforce after graduation.

Our brother, "Dennis," however, seems content to live with my parents, working a seasonal minimum-wage job. He was ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a Black woman who is close friends with a white woman. We were chatting on the phone when I started casually complaining to her about the men that I've dated in the past. Every man that I've dated has been Black, and she knows this. She told me that I need a "new type." When I asked her what she meant, she said that I need ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I went out with three friends for what was billed as a chance to enjoy oysters together. When we got to the restaurant, it turned out one of our party didn't like oysters and decided to get a salad instead. One of our party told the server that we would just be getting the oysters and the salad. I hadn't really decided whether...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been with my boyfriend "Scott" for almost 11 years. We have been together since high school. We had a baby when we were young, and I've worked since I was of legal age to do so, only taking a break for maternity leave. Scott didn't start working until our daughter was 2. He worked for a small company where he ran his own ...Read more