ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I am a 75-year-old woman in good health, and I've been married for 54 years. I have wonderful children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My problem is that many lifelong friends and most of my family members don't seem to want to maintain a relationship with me. When I contact them, they seem glad to hear from me, but for the...Read more

Dear Amy: My 30-year-old son returned to live at home from several states away.

He has a college degree, is handsome, charming, and quick-witted.

His former position with a well-known insurance company ended when the contract ran out.

Initially I thought he would be living at home for two or three weeks, but we have now hit 12 weeks.

I am ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a guy in college, majoring in computer science. I live with my mother, who's in her 60s and works as an elementary school teacher.

Right now, we live in an urban area, near some big cities. Most of our family originally lived here, but my siblings all moved to a mid-southern state, one after another. Mom says she wants to retire ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter, "Gina," was the first one in our family to go to college. Of course, we all were proud. She chose a school that was rather pricey, but she had some scholarships and loans. She graduated last year.

In college, Gina needed me to be a cosigner on her loan. Now I am discovering the cost of doing so. Gina did not get a job...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Hi, Carolyn:

"Alex" is married to one of my closest friends, "Lana," and Alex and I work at the same company. Recently my husband "Ben" also joined the same place. Lana has tried to get a job at our company several times, but for one reason or another has been unsuccessful. Still, she has a great job...Read more

Dear Annie: I would like your opinion on a recent incident that happened to me. I went to my son's house to go out to dinner with him and his family to celebrate his birthday. When I arrived, the only person there was my granddaughter. My son was meeting us at the restaurant, and my daughter-in-law, "Jean," had been called into work but ...Read more

Dear Amy: I am a dad with two children, ages 11 and 8.

Three months ago, we were at my mother and stepfather's house for a family cookout.

My 8-year-old son was throwing "pops" on the ground (you know -- those firecracker things that pop on cement). Well, apparently, my stepfather became angry and lunged at my son, picking him up by the throat...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My first marriage ended in divorce 35 years ago because my wife had cheated on me several times. I suspected then that I wasn't my daughter's biological father. Lately I have been wondering about my son, too. Both are in their late 30s now. Obviously, I decided to accept them as my own.

My son and his daughter both have health ...Read more

Dear Annie: May I, a male in his 70s, respond to "Bob," who said that aging, obese, snoring and unhealthy women are the reasons for bedroom problems? Perhaps in his home, but not in ours. I can't pinpoint exactly when intimacy began evolving into something deeper, but when I retired, I became so appreciative of this woman who, for more than 30...Read more

Dear Annie: About two years ago, my wife of 20 years, "Cynthia," and I divorced. Our two children are grown and out of the house. Our divorce wasn't the norm; we did it without a lawyer or mediator. Everything was civil; no one cheated or was abused. I think we both just changed over time.

About four months after the divorce, I met another ...Read more

Dear Amy: What do you do if one parent in the family wants a dog (as do all of the children), while the other parent (the one who does 95 percent of the housework) does not?

I am in a 19-year marriage. My husband and I have four children. Our oldest (twins) just left for college.

My husband is now insisting that we get a dog, (a puppy!) for ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 30-year-old female who has extreme hemophobia. I cannot see blood or hear people talk about anything blood-related. I pass out when my blood is drawn, and I cannot have a finger-prick blood test either. It's even difficult for me to write this message.

I work in an office and I have told my co-workers about my problem and asked...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife, my granddaughter and I recently took a six-hour flight home. I thought we'd have the middle section to ourselves, but when we boarded, I noticed there were four seats. As I put our carry-on luggage into the overhead bin, I saw my wife plop herself next to a male passenger.

Whenever I fly with my wife, she always says she ...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

In my childhood, criticism from my parents was the constant theme. My grades were never good enough, my room was never clean enough, whatever. As a result, I feel little to no affection for my parents now that I'm an adult, and I don't spend much time with them or talk to them much. I ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our family is like most families -- dysfunctional. Our father worked two jobs most of his life to better himself for the good of his family. My mother was a spender, but my father controlled the money. When my father passed, my mother was finally free to live as she wanted.

Yet my eldest sibling, "Dan," suddenly controlled all her...Read more

Dear Amy: I have been with my boyfriend for three years.

We were perfectly happy until recently when I received a message from a "friend of a friend," telling me that he cheated on me six months ago with a friend of mine.

I confronted him and he admitted to it and said it happened one time and that it was a mistake on a drunken night.

I also ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Can you tell me why men watch porn? My husband watches porn on the computer at all hours of the night. When I found out about it six months ago, he promised he would stop doing it, but I just realized that he still goes online and watches it when I'm asleep at night and early in the morning.

Our sex life has diminished to almost ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our son has been dating "Nicole" for several years. She has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage. Although they live several hours from us, my husband and I have done everything to make "Nicole" feel welcome.

Last Christmas, she and her daughters opened their gifts, tossed them aside and went to watch TV. In May, I sent ...Read more