ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I have a co-worker who often shows up late, constantly complains about how he doesn't want to be "here" (in this city, at this job, etc.), spends most of his time reading Facebook posts aloud or trying to chat with the rest of the people in our department and generally wastes his time when he's supposed to be working.

Our department...Read more

Dear Annie: Last weekend, my youngest daughter got her driver's license. She is now able to take herself places, thus dissolving the role of our nanny, "Maria."

Maria has been part of our family for 20 years, since my oldest child was 3 months old. My youngest daughter has known her for her entire life. Maria has picked up my daughter from ...Read more

Dear Annie: I read the letter from "The Family Mistake," the 12-year-old boy whose nearest sibling is 29. He hates his life, saying people assume he's the grandchild, and his parents call him a "mistake." He said his parents are in their 50s.

My husband and I are in our 50s. We have three kids between the ages of 9 and 13. No one has mistaken ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'd like to fix the relationship between my fiancee and my mother before things get out of hand.

My fiancee, "Beth," fixates on instances where she feels my mother has slighted her. For example, Beth calls me by a shortened version of my name, a nickname my mother hates and has ranted on about. My mother has also raved about the ...Read more

Dear Annie: After my mother died 10 years ago, Dad asked his four daughters what to do with the small cabin he owned upstate. Three of us told him to sell it. My oldest sister, "Charlene," however, asked if she could use it as a vacation home. She said she would help pay the property taxes and make sure it was taken care of, in exchange for ...Read more

Dear Annie: We raised our son in the Midwest, and paid for his tuition to follow his dream to go to an Ivy League college where he met his future wife. Now that he is married, he lives in a large east coast city and is surrounded by his wife's family. We barely hear from him.

Our son and his wife go on luxury vacations with her family and spend...Read more

Dear Annie: What is the polite thing to do with a guest who carries a gun?

I do not like guns in my house, but I have a friend who adamantly refuses to leave his gun at home when he comes here. Do people who carry a concealed weapon have an obligation to notify the host before entering their residence? -- Pennsylvania

Dear Pennsylvania: Yes. ...Read more

Dear Readers: Happy Mother's Day. Please phone your mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, stepmother or foster mother and wish them the best. And please don't forget those for whom this day, for whatever reason, is filled with sadness. Give them a call and say you are thinking of them.

Dear Annie: A few years back, you reprinted a lovely poem ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have suffered with lymphoma for 17 years, but praise God, I am doing well now. Ten years ago, my sister, "June," was tested to see if she could be a bone marrow donor. She was a perfect genetic match and bragged that she had the "right stuff." The donation wasn't necessary at that time, but it was reassuring.

June began calling me...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 15-year-old boy and an only child. I get good grades and my social life is somewhat fair. I have no drama except for one thing -- my mom.

Mom is 40 years old and has a full-time job. But every time she talks to me, she yells. No one can tell her that she needs help -- she gets angry. She cooks, but rarely cleans. I do most of...Read more

Dear Annie: My married daughter has decided to estrange herself from her stepfather and me. We have not spoken since she rudely shrugged me off at her son's graduation party last June. I recently began counseling to help me deal with the situation. The counselor thinks my daughter may have narcissistic personality disorder. The additional ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother has always been a strong presence in my life. Growing up, I couldn't do anything right. She took things away from me and redid them, or stood over me and directed.

Three years ago, my husband suggested we move my parents in with us because their neighborhood had become drug and gang infested and we feared for their safety....Read more

Dear Annie: Please advise your readers not to hold onto any letters that contain family information or intimate details of a relationship that should remain secret. I was cleaning out my mother-in-law's house after her death and came upon letters addressed to "My dearest wife and son," written while my father-in-law was away at war. As I started...Read more

Dear Annie: In three years, I will be away at college. I am concerned because Mom has a boyfriend with a major anger problem, and he throws tantrums and gets abusive.

Mom has been in this relationship for a few years, and I'm afraid when I leave he will do some serious damage and I won't be there to protect her. She has been going to therapy, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 38-year-old single man with a serious problem involving my 13-year-old nephew, "Hayden." Hayden's father died when he was 3, and I immediately stepped in as a surrogate parent. We share a close, affectionate relationship, and he has spent the night at my house on numerous occasions. There was never a problem until a month ago....Read more

Dear Annie: What do you think about a married couple whose only intimacy is makeup sex? My husband says he loves me and I believe he is faithful, but he never initiates anything in the bedroom, and we have sex only if I pitch a fit because I feel neglected. I don't do this often, so we've had sex only twice in the past 15 months.

We are both ...Read more

Dear Annie: Can anyone tell me why old men (over 60) don't or won't shower or put on clean clothes?

I have several older male friends who smell so bad that we don't want to be any closer than 12 feet. And they wear the same clothes for weeks until the clothes almost fall off their bodies. When they come to visit, the furniture where they sit ...Read more

Dear Annie: I married my high school sweetheart 39 years ago. She is the only woman I have ever slept with, although I am not her only man.

When our second daughter was born, her new employer paid the hospital bill. I never suspected anything then, but she started working late and going out for drinks while I stayed home and took care of the ...Read more

Dear Annie: Tragedy has struck our family. A cousin killed himself on Easter Sunday. I never thought my cousin would do this. He worked with troubled teens and their families. He was outgoing and strong, and helped others through their own tough spots.

A few years ago, his son died by suicide. Since that time, my cousin struggled with ...Read more

Dear Annie: Young people are ready, willing and able to tackle the world's most difficult challenges, and yet are vastly underrepresented as active citizens, decision-makers and problem solvers. From the third-grader in Detroit distributing meals to the homeless, to the high schooler in Jakarta collecting gently used books to develop literacy ...Read more