ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I have four siblings. One of my sisters thinks she has a right to invite herself to our homes, join us for dinner and attend other functions, whether we invite her or not. It's like she thinks we are joined at the hip.

For example, "Ginny" will call and ask, "Where are we going for dinner tonight?" I am tempted to reply, "I don't ...Read more

Dear Annie: I was divorced in 1972 and was given custody of our 2-year-old son. As much as I didn't want the divorce, my husband was an alcoholic who refused help. I finally realized it was the only way to protect my son. My ex did not use his visitation rights and never paid child support.

I remarried when my son was 4. My new husband wanted ...Read more

Dear Annie: It is a modern kind of problem to have such a long life expectancy. My husband and I are in our early 60s. His parents are in their early 90s. They still live independently and are fairly healthy. We often have family get-togethers with his parents, our children and our grandchildren.

My husband's father tells the same stories over ...Read more

ATTENTION CLASSIC ANNIE'S MAILBOX EDITORS: THE FOLLOWING COLUMN WAS Dear Annie: My cousin is getting married soon and another cousin's girlfriend was invited. They have been dating for years, and I really like her. The problem is, my boyfriend was not invited, even though we, too, have been dating for years. A lot of that was long distance, so ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband likes to unclick his seatbelt as soon as we get out of traffic. Then the seatbelt-violation warning starts pinging, and goes on and on while we drive up our driveway or into a parking lot.

I do most of the driving. I told him once that if he wants to ride with me, then he needs to leave his seatbelt buckled until the car ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son and daughter-in-law have two beautiful children, ages 6 and 7. Since my retirement, I've taken care of the children while the parents work. I also gave them a large sum of money for the down payment on their home in an area with good schools.

Over the past couple of years, I have noticed that they spend money extravagantly ...Read more

Dear Annie: About three years ago, I did something very stupid. I looked at a solar eclipse. I thought it would last only a minute and, not wanting to miss it, I ran outside and squinted at it through my sunglasses. I fully acknowledge that I can only blame myself for that. The next days and weeks were some of the scariest of my life. My vision ...Read more

Dear Annie: I had my high school graduation party at a local restaurant (because our house is too small). My father claimed he was unable to pay for it, and insisted I cover the bill, close to $1,100, saying he will pay me back later.

I realize that my parents' business sometimes goes through hard times, but Dad still manages to eat out ...Read more

Dear Annie: Whenever I'm at my parents' house and they have guests, they expect me to "perform." I don't mean playing the piano or tap dancing. I mean they insist I "tell them that story you told me." Any story they select.

I feel I'm being treated as some kind of circus freak. This makes me very uncomfortable, and they know it because I've ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been married for seven years. She has a son from a previous marriage who got into drugs as a teen. Four years ago, my wife put her son in rehab, but he had a relapse and briefly ended up in prison. The effect it had on my wife was devastating and she began to drink. My dislike for her son increased exponentially.

...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 30 and my wife is 27, and we are completely in love. My wife is a very spiritual woman and wanted to wait until we were married to have sex. I respected her choice and we were engaged for almost two years. No problem.

Then comes the wedding. BIG problem. We simply do not fit physically. I am more endowed than my very petite ...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister, "Helen," and her first husband never had children. He died eight years ago. Helen has since remarried a wonderful man, a widower with two sons, a daughter and several grandchildren. He wants my sister to be a real grandmother to them.

Helen is an extremely buttoned-up person. The daughter recently phoned to say she was ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father has been a bully for as long as I can remember. He has unending excuses for his behavior, but the bottom line is, he thinks nothing of browbeating people to get what he wants, sometimes to the point of being cruel. He never sees it as wrong. It is always someone else's fault.

It doesn't matter whether it's as simple as ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our daughter recently became engaged and we couldn't be happier. She is our only child and is marrying a great guy. While we are excited about all of the planning for the big event, it appears that the groom's mother, "Dolores," is trying to take control.

For nearly every detail that my daughter and I agree upon, Dolores steps in ...Read more

Dear Annie: Yesterday, I had an argument with my 85-year-old mother. She said I must be a lesbian because of my recent Facebook posts in support of all my gay friends and the Supreme Court decision upholding gay marriage. Specifically, I changed my photo so it was colored in beautiful rainbow shades.

My mother was appalled that I was supporting...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife and I were married in a double wedding with her sister. Two years later, my new brother-in-law began boasting to me of his philandering. He rationalized it by claiming that as long as his wife knew nothing about it, he wasn't hurting her. I told this to my wife and asked whether we should tell her sister, but she said not to....Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter is getting married in two weeks. My 80-year-old mother-in-law is unable to attend, but she called us with a request. Her daughter, "Donna," the bride's aunt, will be flying across the country with her two young children to attend the wedding. She asked whether Donna's two children could have a role in the celebration ...Read more

Dear Annie: How do you cope with a friendship where the person stays connected just enough to continually remind you of how unimportant you are?

I have a friend with whom I was once quite close. We exercised and ran errands together, and when she was seriously ill, I spent countless hours visiting, reading to her and just being there. I donated...Read more

Dear Annie: Last year, my husband told me that he was having an affair. I was shocked. All I knew was that he had been drinking excessively and I was concerned.

He told me that the Other Woman "gets him" and that he is in love with her. She makes him feel young again. He was certain that I would let him go, but I refused to throw away 27 years ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a problem with my oldest daughter. She has always been a selfish child. For years, we did not get along, and many times, we stopped speaking.

She popped back into my life last October through a Facebook chat. She was separated from her husband and had left her teenage children. She blamed everything on him and I believed her....Read more