ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I am a single senior woman. I am very close to a neighbor family. I love them, and they tell me they love me as if I were their family. The older stepfather lives with them. He and I are close in age. We have been great friends. Neither one of us is interested in a romantic relationship with each other or anyone else.

But over the...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Our son is married to a beautiful girl, Debra. Several years ago, while we were away on vacation, she entered our home without our consent. (Our son has a key to our house.) She took several expensive, very personal and sentimental items, and we have no idea what she did with them because she denies doing it.

Abby, we have absolute ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a proud father of two young children, who both mind and respect me. I know that kids get in trouble. We were all kids once. The problem is, I am the disciplinarian at home, and I wish my wife and her mother did a little more. They can't seem to handle any of it.

My mother-in-law babysits a lot, and I get calls at work for ...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Hi, Carolyn:

I got engaged last month (yay!), and my fiance and I are starting to plan our wedding. He cares more about most of the details and so is taking the lead. I'm OK with that, but it's starting to look like he is planning a wedding that reflect the things that are important to him, ...Read more

DEAR SUSAN: Your "true or false" quiz really has me thinking!

You ask us to respond to the statement "Men and women cannot be friends; they're too dissimilar." I find that to be both true and false. Men I've already had a relationship with can continue our friendship but at arm's length. The emotional closeness I feel with female friends simply...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a very lucky 67-year-old. I have a job I enjoy every day, a happy marriage, wonderful children and grandchildren, and my health is excellent. I also know that, life being what it is, I am likely to be dead or at least confined to an assisted living center in a decade. I've had a great life and am ready for death, if that is ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are moving to a retirement community where we won't know a soul. I hate leaving our friends and the relationships we have formed here. I have never been especially outgoing or good at making small talk, but I know I will have to to fit in.

I believe you have written something for people who have this challenge. Can I...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 55-year-old woman, the youngest of three. When I married 30 years ago, we moved away for my husband's job. Over the years, we have returned for summer visits, especially since our daughters are close in age to their cousins.

We always have made it a priority to attend all important family events, often at great expense. Last ...Read more

I know some men refuse to use emojis because they think they're silly or cheesy. But I have to say, when men use emojis, they make me feel good. Is it crazy that a heart or a rose emoji makes me feel like a man's more interested? -- Wondering

It's easy to misinterpret tone in texts. However, emojis are basically the cartoon cousins of ...Read more

Dear Annie: There is a family in our congregation, "Fred" and "Wilma," who have two kids who are the same age as ours. My wife is friends with Wilma, and the kids all get along well. The problem is Fred. He's a fat jerk. We've known them for six years, and I work at the same company as him. However, I got promoted faster thanks to my working ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My 40-year-old daughter, Marta, and I are widows. I'm retired, and my daughter has a small home-based business. She and her three children live with me. Because the cost of living is high in our city, living together has allowed us to pool our resources and co-parent my grandkids.

Marta has had a boyfriend for a year and a half. I ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married more than 40 years. He rarely calls me by my name and never uses terms of endearment. He just talks at me. I've put up with his emotional neglect and his forcing me to have sex when I didn't want to. He's had so many affairs, I have lost count. He has refused to do any repairs to our home except for...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

I got married a few years ago and ever since, my husband seems to have a waning interest in me. He has some other issues going on -- trying to change careers, worried about health, general anxiety -- but I and our relationship always get a back burner.

He doesn't want to spend ...Read more

Dear Annie: Having been a registered nurse for the past 40 years, I have seen many changes in health care. I believe that nursing is a calling and not just a career. In my initial, youthful bliss, I took great joy in helping people in their hour of need. Patients and families were grateful and appreciative for every little thing that was done ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My cousin recently married a lovely girl, someone he'd been dating for a couple of years. Our whole family loves her, and she's always been very sweet to us.

She's very intelligent and kind, but the issue is her wardrobe. She's pretty but refuses to wear nice clothes. Instead she wears baggy, boring clothes. Our family is fashion-...Read more