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Dear Annie: I read your column every day and finally decided it was time to ask for advice. Last weekend, my husband of nine years did the unthinkable. He hit me in front of our two children. He had been drinking excessively, and apparently, I pushed the wrong buttons. A few choice words were exchanged, and I told him to get out of our house. He...Read more

Dear Annie: My 30-year-old son is engaged to be married to a young lady from Kenya. They have known each other a year, and he is head over heels in love. She claims to love our son, but she also honors the way of her culture, which we think is fine -- to a point.

Her family insists that we pay a dowry. In Kenya, that is their way. However, this...Read more

Dear Annie: I have started dating a divorced Jewish man with a teenage daughter. I, too, am Jewish. "Simon" has been divorced for many years, and has continued to celebrate the important high holidays in the company of his daughter and his ex-wife (who has not remarried).

Simon and I have a lot in common, and everything is going so well between...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and his brother, "Sam," are both in their 50s. My mother-in-law thinks Sam is "the golden child." He and his wife receive the best gifts, and we get whatever trash she can put her hands on. She gives my sister-in-law all the best jewelry, and I get cheap junk. She recently told me that for my birthday, she was sending a ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am having an argument with my husband and need an impartial opinion.

My daughter, 19, has been dating "Thad," 21, for four years. Thad recently admitted that he cheated on her, and now she is breaking up with him. She discussed it with me and then sent him a text message that it was over. He texted her multiple times, but she didn...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister, "Ruth," has struggled with addiction to prescription medication since high school. My parents have been incredibly supportive for the past eight years. They helped her get into rehabilitation programs, paid for lawyers, car insurance, health insurance and food, and they allow her to live rent-free in their home.

This past...Read more

Dear Annie: A while back, I signed up for Facebook in order to stay in touch with friends and renew old acquaintances.

Several weeks ago, my husband's 35-year-old daughter, "Sheila," sent me a friend request. She has not been in touch with us since she turned 18, when my husband no longer had to pay child support. Obviously, they were never ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son has been married to "Josie" for 11 years. I admit I never cared for her. She has a volatile temper and creates destructive scenes. Once they married, I did my best to be friendly, hoping she would mellow with time. She has not.

In the past three years, Josie's violent behavior has escalated. She used to put holes in the walls...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been a single mother for 20 years. Four months ago, I was talked into letting one of my daughter's friends stay with us while her parents searched for a new home in another state. They agreed to pay me a monthly stipend for their daughter's expenses. This has not happened. I received one check, and that was it. This girl's ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 12 years old, and my brother is verbally and physically abusive. Sometimes it's just playing around, but other times it really hurts. When I yell out, my mom gets involved. She sends us both to our rooms without even knowing what the problem is. She doesn't want to hear it. She always says, "You'll just have to work it out on ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a fairly tall sophomore girl in high school. I have dated several guys, but their personalities are not like the guy I have a crush on.

"Ravi" is a junior. He is handsome, shy, intelligent, a good artist and very muscular. The problem is, he is the shortest person in the whole school. I like him a lot, and I want him to notice ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our late 70s. Although we had a modest income, we managed to send all our children to college, and they now are financially comfortable. We have been retired for several years and are on a limited income.

My children like to come home for every holiday, and we enjoy having them. The problem is the food. They ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been with my boyfriend, "Hugo," for 11 years. I recently discovered that for the past year, he has been receiving calls on his cell phone from "Janet," a woman we know from a weekly social function. When I confronted him, he admitted it, but said it was only friendship and nothing more. He said they went to lunch a few times ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a teenage girl. I always thought I was heterosexual, but lately, I have been paying a lot more attention to girls. In the locker room, I always find myself staring at their breasts. While all my friends are ogling Brad Pitt, I'm looking at Angelina Jolie.

I don't really consider guys anything more than friends. I've had crushes...Read more

Dear Annie: For the last several months, I have been going through a rough patch with "Collin," my husband of six years. There have been so many things going on -- illnesses, deaths in the family and a stressful life -- that it has taken a toll and we no longer are intimate, emotionally or sexually. It seems like we've lost something, and I don'...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter has two kids, ages 9 and 5. My husband and I saw the 5-year-old's report card, and we gave her a dollar. We also saw our 9-year-old grandson's report card, which was excellent, so we gave him $5. He was so excited.

The following week, our daughter returned $4 of the money we had given her son. She told me that both ...Read more

Dear Annie: Five years ago, we moved to a small town. Initially, it was hard to meet people, but then I found "Inez," who was organizing a women's group.

At first, things went swimmingly, but I noticed that Inez gossiped a lot about her friends and their children. I wondered if she was doing the same to me. When I foolishly confided that one of...Read more

Dear Annie: Six months ago, I married "Jodi." We were both previously divorced. I assumed Jodi would take my name, but I was mistaken. So now, even though she is my wife, she goes by Mrs. Ex-Husband.

I admit I did not discuss this with her prior to getting married, but even so, I find it embarrassing and hurtful. If she had wanted to retain her...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a small-business owner with two small children. My husband is stationed in Iraq.

I know everybody has their own opinion on the war, but I have some customers who like to verbalize their opinions. They like to tell me we are losing soldiers for no reason. It really bothers me that they think my husband is not making a difference...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married to "Cole" for 18 months. Soon after the wedding, I became pregnant. Then Cole left the country on business for nearly five months. A few weeks before he came home, Cole confessed that he had slept with other women on this trip, and that he had a relationship with one of them. I tried to talk calmly about it, but ...Read more