ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: I go to the beach every summer, and I am looking forward to it again this year. I have a bit of trepidation, too. I have gained a lot of weight. As much as I like to sit out on the beach and tan and walk around and collect shells, I am feeling more and more self-conscious about my body. I know that nobody is checking for me like ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I'm a single guy in his late 50s who enjoys recharging as a solo diner in restaurants. Sometimes I'll catch up on reading, other times I people-watch, and other times, I simply enjoy quiet time with myself. (Notice I did not say "by" myself.)

Could you please advise restaurant hosts that it is degrading to say, "Just one?" as...Read more

Dear Annie: My son has left home several times in the past, only to return because he can't seem to get his life together. A year ago, my husband died, and my live-in son, his wife and their baby stayed to "look after me."

They took over my house with their video games, clothing and trash. When my son became very verbally abusive to me, I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: About 10 years ago, my longtime best friend, "Byron," abruptly cut me out of his life. I never clearly understood why. I reached out to him on and off for several years without success. Then I ran into him, traded pleasantries and we followed up. He returned my email, we began communicating again about things that mattered, and it ...Read more

Dear Annie: My family wants to move to another state. The only reason we haven't is because of my dad's job. He has worked for the same company for 18 years and doesn't want to lose his retirement benefits. I understand how important the job is, but the company could easily allow a transfer to another branch.

Whenever we try to talk to Dad ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have had a couple of financially good years recently. At the same time, I know that a couple of my closest friends have been suffering. I do my best to be supportive. For example, we used to go out to eat a lot. Now, I invite them over for drinks or dinner at least once a month so we can hang without adding burdensome expenses ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work on landscaping and grounds maintenance projects. On many occasions, I have encountered hidden house keys -- under the mat, beneath a flowerpot and so forth.

Should I mention my discoveries to the owners? It seems awkward to say, "I know where your keys are hidden."

GENTLE READER: The only reason Miss Manners can think...Read more

Dear Annie: At the end of 2015, I decided to end my marriage of 30 years. My ex made the divorce very long and expensive, and he tried to financially destroy me in retribution. He involved our daughter and son and turned them against me. I have tried from the beginning to maintain my relationship with my kids, but they quickly shut me out of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband of 37 years passed away four months ago. When we were first married, we were happy, but his drinking increased and he turned into a miserable, mean drunk. When I decided I'd finally had enough, he got sick and could no longer work, and I felt obligated to take care of him. More than a decade of my life was spent looking ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am married to an absolute angel. Unfortunately, her mother has been living with us for the past two years. Mom doesn't work, doesn't do much of anything around the house, doesn't cook or clean, and sleeps until nearly noon. We have to ask her to do things, just as we would a child, and then she responds as if we're scolding her.

...Read more

DEAR SUSAN: A 42-year-old professional woman, I'm new to the single world -- and scared to death. I have been away from this type of thing for 15 years and, with an 18-year-old daughter, don't want to end up in a place where her friends hang out. I've been reading "Single File" and the letters that come to you out of neediness. Is it really that...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am in the onboarding process for a new project, and one of the principals is worrying me. There is a lot of tension in leadership. I have the ear of one of the leaders, and right now all I'm hearing is moaning and groaning about internal feuding. It's making me worry that the work cannot get done due to the bickering. I want to...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Some good friends of ours, a husband and wife, have a painting of the wife in their living room. The painting is a nude from her much younger days.

It is not erotic, but it is very large and very explicit and detailed. She is looking at the viewer with a direct challenge.

When we visit, we are always taken to this room. I've...Read more

Dear Annie: Each year, I send my sister's three adult children gifts. The youngest does not thank me unless prompted. My two questions are: Isn't this rude? And should I cease sending her a gift?

Since we live in different states, I usually text all three sisters to let them know something is on the way.

For the last few years, I have not ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I don't know what to do about my 18-year-old niece. She walks around the house in her underwear. She's been doing it for the last two or three years. It wouldn't matter, I suppose, if it were just in front of immediate family living there, but she also does it in front of workmen, the cleaning women, answering the door, going out to ...Read more

Dear Annie: Two years ago, my son's fiancee recommended we rotate who hosts Christmas dinner. That year, she and my son went to her mom's house, and last year they were supposed to come to mine. Instead, they went to her mom's again and were upset that I didn't want to tag along. Annie, at the time, my 73-year-old mother was in a rehab facility....Read more