ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My mother is 90 years old. She recently loaned one of my nephews a large sum of money to purchase a house. "Todd" and his wife borrowed enough for the house, a new washer and dryer, and then more for homeowners insurance and property taxes. They moved in last August and have not paid anything toward the principal or interest.

My ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 19-year-old full-time college student and I work part-time at a fast food place. I started my job two years ago, and for the most part, I enjoy it and have made several friends.

Eight months ago, "Ally" joined our team. I happened to have attended elementary school with Ally. We always butted heads back then, but my first ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father died a year ago. Since then, I have ignored my extended family, but I'm close to my children and grandchildren. Christmas passed and I never phoned my sick mother, even though I live 15 minutes away. I want to make it right, but can't just waltz into their lives and say, "Here I am."

My younger sister has been taking care ...Read more

Dear Annie: A year ago, I bought a house for my niece Alice, her boyfriend and their two daughters, so they could have a better life and become homeowners. The house is still in my name, and our agreement was that Alice could live there for five years so she could build up her credit and save enough for a down payment on a home of her own.

The ...Read more

Dear Annie: For 10 years, my daughter has been in a relationship with a man from another culture. He is controlling, manipulative, arrogant and patronizing. He was raised with servants, nannies and drivers. Now my daughter fills those roles.

I limit visits to once a year because he never fails to make snide comments to me when he is sure my ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently came home to find my husband looking at pictures of nude women on the computer. I didn't know whether to be hurt, sad or furious.

He defended himself, saying he is the same as any guy looking at girlie magazines. After a much-heated argument, I discovered he was also looking at each girl's videos and had downloaded the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 29-year-old woman with a medium build and long, thick black hair that's never been cut. I am also a virgin.

My family members continue to ask me about a boyfriend, and I tell them that I have never been with a man. They think something is wrong with me. I am a perfectly normal woman, and I dream of being married and having ...Read more

Dear Annie: Please comment again about emotional affairs. My husband says this is a bunch of malarkey.

He has been hanging out quite a bit at a local establishment, which is owned by a woman who is rather flirtatious. She can get the men who come there to do little favors for her, and this includes my husband. I also know that he has been ...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I are in our 60s and have known each other since high school. We reconnected five years ago, and for the past 18 months, we've been living together.

At first, my boyfriend was loving and sweet and promised all sorts of dreams for our future. But after several months, he changed. He became distant, sometimes even ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter and her husband are using a surrogate to have a baby. What do I do about a shower when someone else is carrying their child?

It is my daughter's first child, and she and her husband are in their late 40s. Should I make the shower for them as a couple? Does she not get a shower because someone else is actually pregnant ...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I are in our 60s and have been together for 12 years. We recently had a disagreement, and he walked away. I emailed him and he said he has feelings for me and always will, but he can't make me happy. He said I need someone who is as romantic and financially secure as I am. He has no pension, no savings and a business...Read more

Dear Annie: I am married to one of four siblings who dutifully took care of their aged parents until their mother died a few years ago. Daddy, in his mid-80s, met a bevy of women at his new upscale care facility and proposed marriage to one of them within two weeks. She turned him down, but a mutual friend accepted and she secretly married Daddy...Read more

Dear Annie: Several years ago, my husband of 45 years took an aerobics class composed of six students -- four women and two men. The instructor, "Lynette," is single and in her late 40s. Over time, the group became friendly and would socialize for an hour or so after workouts. Even when my husband stopped taking the class three years ago, they ...Read more

Dear Annie: My 16-year-old son, "Freddie," has always kept to himself. We see Freddie's uncle about once a year, and I only recently discovered that this same uncle molested Freddie when the boy was 7 years old. I had no clue. When Freddie was 11, I spoke with him about inappropriate touching, but he never told me about his uncle.

I've always ...Read more

Dear Annie: My parents are getting divorced after 22 years of marriage, and it seems to be strongly affecting my mother in a terribly negative way.

Mom has told me that she has contemplated suicide twice. Once, she even held my brother's gun to her head. Everyone in the family, including my grandmother, my aunts and even my boyfriend, thinks ...Read more

Dear Annie: Twelve years ago, I married my best friend, lover and the woman I believed to be my partner for life. Before we married, my wife and I were physically active: hiking, biking, skiing, rollerblading, you name it. We enjoyed movies, plays, board games and talking for hours. We also had a fantastic sex life.

Seven years ago, all of that...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister-in-law always makes comments about what I am eating. I keep myself trim and am careful about what I eat, but I don't deny myself.

Last week, we went to lunch at a favorite place, and I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. It is a lovely restaurant, and the servings are large. I always take half of my meal home, as it is too ...Read more

Dear Annie: My lifelong friend "Georgia" has a 7-year-old son who frequently plays with my 6-year-old. Georgia and her husband are divorced and share custody. The problem is, I fear her son is being exposed to things that are not appropriate for his age. He plays adult video games, and both parents allow him to watch frightening, sexually ...Read more

Dear Annie: I lost my grandmother to suicide when I was 7. The day before Grandma died, she made comments to me about going away where I could not go with her and "going to be with her mother," who had died. I did not understand what she was saying.

Several weeks after the funeral, I told my mother what my grandmother said to me. For years ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am wondering whether my husband has OCD. Once he uses something, he cannot put it away. If he takes out a screwdriver, it stays on the counter. If he opens a package, the packaging sits until I throw it away. Every day he leaves an empty soda can on the coffee table. If he opens a cabinet, the door remains open. At the moment, ...Read more