ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I have been with my husband for seven years. When we first married, he had a great job and was attentive and supportive. He adopted my son from my previous marriage, and I got pregnant shortly after our wedding. Life was wonderful, but it ended a month after our daughter was born. That was the first of several times that my husband ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter, "Chloe," who is not quite 18, dated "Ted" for two years. Things started out fine. Even though neither her father nor I approved of the relationship, we never told Chloe. After two years, she admitted to me that Ted was emotionally abusive, calling her names, pointing out every flaw she had. She was never good enough. If ...Read more

Dear Annie: When I was growing up, we were all afraid of my mother. My own kids recently confessed that when they were little they were always afraid of Grandma because they never knew when she would completely lose it and take it out on them.

My mother seldom takes any interest in my kids except to find fault. When my teenage daughter recently...Read more

Dear Annie: My friend "Nancy" has become one of those stepmothers who negatively influences her husband's relationship with his adult children.

When things began to turn sour between Nancy and her husband's daughter, who lived nearby, the daughter retaliated by distancing herself from her father, refusing to see him and avoiding his calls. ...Read more

Dear Annie: My 14-year-old daughter attends an all-girls school. Her stepfather initially encouraged it, but in the past two years, my daughter has made friends with a few classmates who say they are lesbian or bisexual.

My husband is extremely conservative (borderline homophobic), and as a result, he is shaming my daughter regularly for her ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father-in-law died four years ago. He had struggled with some health issues for a while and then went into the hospital for what was supposed to be a simple procedure and never made it out. It broke my heart. And it was the first time I ever saw my husband cry. Both of his parents were like the parents I wish I'd had. I adored his...Read more

Dear Annie: While traveling across town one afternoon, I got caught in traffic and decided to take a shortcut through a rather seedy part of our town. While stopped at a red light, I noticed my best friecnd's husband entering a well-known gay bathhouse. He didn't see me, but I also recognized his car and surfboard parked on the adjacent street. ...Read more

Dear Annie: Due to financial problems, my husband and I recently had to move into my in-laws' home. Not a day goes by that I am not chastised or put down for the choices that led us to this situation. My "frivolous spending habits" seem to be the sole reason we are here. They totally disregard the illness that kept their son from working, his ...Read more

Dear Annie: Thirty years ago, when I was 11, I got into an argument on the school bus with another kid my age. I was an insecure child, and I was losing the argument and feeling humiliated. In a move to try to regain some power, I called the other kid, who is black, a racial epithet. I immediately felt sick at what I had done, and it is the only...Read more

Dear Annie: My father was in prison for my entire childhood. I am now 23 and have managed to build a good relationship with him since he was released two years ago.

Recently, Dad became very ill and stopped breathing. He was on life support for a week. Because I am his closest relative, I am in charge of his health care. I was told the damage ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father recently passed away. Dad was helping to support my 43-year-old brother, "Ben," who suffers from depression and is on disability. Ben doesn't work and spends a great deal of time in bed or buying liquor and lottery tickets. He's always just a little bit out of it, and I think his antidepressants, along with his alcohol and ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I meet up with a group of family and close friends every week for lunch.

One couple in this group (a close family member and her spouse) constantly blow their noses during our get-togethers. They use cloth handkerchiefs, which are then reused multiple times, and her husband picks his nose, as well. It is nauseating to...Read more

Dear Readers: Memorial Day has become a three-day holiday of picnics and cookouts. But there is a reason for this commemoration, so please remember the servicemen and women who died serving their country. Consider visiting a veterans hospital or military cemetery and paying your respects. At 3 p.m. local time, the National Moment of Remembrance ...Read more

Dear Annie: I work in an office with 35 women, and it seems as though someone is always hating someone else. Right now, I am the target of two women.

One of these women used to be my friend, and I have no idea why she isn't any longer. I once asked her about it, but her reply surprised me. She said I took advantage of her by switching shifts so...Read more

Dear Annie: Is there any end to it? I am 68 and have been married for 44 years. My husband and I both have some health issues, but he still needs sex, or he becomes depressed and can't seem to function. My husband is also addicted to pornography and has been his whole adult life. I've looked the other way on this vice because he is otherwise a ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been seeing (and sleeping with) "Jordan"' for eight months. We met at the gym, and I asked him out because I had an amazing feeling about him. Since then, I've become totally infatuated. He is one of the kindest men I've ever met. I thought I saw a future for us.

But the other day, Jordan casually mentioned that he needed to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 17 years old and still in high school. I recently became "Jake's" girlfriend. We've been dating for about a week.

I've known Jake as a friend for a year, and we hang out with the same group. I never had feelings for him until I learned that he liked me, and even then, my friends kind of pushed me into the relationship.

His ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently dated a woman who never offered to pay for a meal, a movie or so much as an ice cream cone. We went out several times.

We're both in our late 50s and earn good incomes. She says she won't pay for things until she is in a committed relationship. I have no problem paying for anything that I invite her to. But she would ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been with "Joe" since his wife died nine years ago. The problem is, we have different styles of communication.

At first, it wasn't too bad. I have tried to analyze our fights to see what I could do differently or what we could do together to make it better. But I have settled on the fact that Joe can never be wrong, and it ...Read more

Dear Annie: My daughter recently married for the first time. Her attendants were her three best friends. Their friendship goes back 20 years, and they still regularly get together for a girls' night out.

My daughter attended all of their weddings. For each, she hosted a bridal luncheon. At her rehearsal dinner, my daughter presented them with ...Read more