ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My daughter, "Elizabeth," is a professional who is married to an older man. I'll call him "Jacob." They have two children.

Elizabeth recently was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is going through intense chemotherapy. Early in her treatment, Jacob used to help a lot around the house with laundry and meals, and took good care of ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am the grandmother of nine beautiful little grandchildren. Two granddaughters live with their mother and spend weekends with their father, who remarried, and he and his wife are currently residing with me.

Here's the problem: The younger child, who is 5, was petite until recently. Then her mother and stepmother began forcing ...Read more

Dear Annie: After my bitter divorce, my son decided to live with his father in another state. I have spent thousands of dollars on airplane tickets, hotels, car rentals and restaurants. I have never forgotten my two grandchildren's birthdays.

Here's the rub: To save money, I have traveled alone and stayed with my son. Recently, I stayed for ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a young professional, and I have nothing left. After eight months of searching for a job in my field, I moved to a small town 12 hours away from family and friends to take a graduate-friendly position. Two months in, the firm let me go, saying there wasn't enough work for me. To make matters worse, my successful friends back ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am still fuming over something that happened a month ago. I was contacted by my son's high school teacher, alleging that he plagiarized parts of his final term paper. Annie, I coached him through the writing process, making sure he followed through with his outline. It took an agonizing 15 hours over several days. I know he didn'...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a senior citizen. My companion of 16 years passed away a few years ago. I've had a few dating lunches since then, but nothing serious.

Several weeks ago, while looking over the hot dishes at a local health store, I heard a voice behind me saying, "I can't eat some of the choices because they are a little too spicy." I turned ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 45-year-old gay man who has never had a relationship, and I don't expect it to change. I have lived all of my life in the closet. I know it's not emotionally healthy, but I feel unable to confide in anyone. When I was a teenager, I confided in a minister, who then told my parents. They never accepted me.

My parents are both...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 29 years old, own my home and support myself. I am in a serious relationship with a wonderful man who is African-American.

All of my life, my family has been ruled by my maternal grandmother. My "nana" doesn't approve of this relationship because my boyfriend is black and I am white, and this has caused much heartache for me....Read more

Dear Annie: My parents bought a house 15 years ago. When Mom died seven years later, Dad decided to refinance and take Mom's name off the deed. The bank needed a co-signer, so my sister and I agreed to be the co-borrowers.

Dad is now 75. Four years ago, he married a 47-year-old divorcee with a 22-year-old daughter. Since then, they have been ...Read more

Dear Annie: This is my second marriage. My husband has two children from his first marriage and a stepdaughter. His first wife had several affairs. I feel it may have been due to his lack of support for her. He was always working and never had time for his wife and kids.

We married five years after his divorce. My husband and I are happy, and...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 15 and the oldest of four boys. During one of many fights between my parents, my mom left the house with my brothers and me, and we spent the night at a shelter.

Our grandparents told our father that we have no values because we went with our mom. They say we are old enough to know better. This makes us feel guilty about the ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother-in-law and her husband moved in with us 10 years ago. They even built an addition onto our house, from which we will gain financially if we ever sell it. During this time, I've enjoyed Mom's help with our two kids and the freedom it gives my husband and me. We enjoy childfree vacations every year and go out to dinner ...Read more

Dear Annie: My friend "Don" has spent a few days with me at the family beach house the past three summers in a row. The second year, he hinted about going again and was very pleased when I asked him back. But then he started referring to "his room" at the beach house and making regular comments about "next year" in a way that assumed it was ...Read more

Dear Annie: My grandmother died the day before I was scheduled for an important job interview. I'd received notice two weeks prior, and it said there would be no rescheduling of the interview for any reason whatsoever. If I failed to show up, I would be barred from being hired for another year.

I was desperate for work, and when my father ...Read more

Dear Readers: Happy July 4th! While you're grilling hot dogs, scooping potato salad and spending the day with family and friends, please remember the reason we celebrate this day. Here's one of our favorite pieces, originally written in 1955 as a public relations advertisement for the Norfolk and Western Railway company magazine (now the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been friends with "Jane" and "Carol" since college. Unfortunately, since her mom died well over a decade ago, Jane has become a hermit. She is distant, and whenever we make plans, she makes an excuse at the very last minute to cancel on us. We're frustrated.

While I can sympathize with her terrible loss, I feel she needs to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a lifelong friend who, over the past 10 years, has gotten so steeped in her church that she has become unbearable. She tells me constantly (bragging is more like it) about how her God has blessed her and her family with their new house, all her lovely grandchildren, and getting her together with her current husband (they met...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife of 38 years recently reconnected on Facebook with the guy she was seeing before we started dating. She spent a lengthy amount of time catching up with him on the phone and then asked whether I would be upset if she met with him to discuss the past 40 years. I didn't tell her "no," but I did say I wasn't crazy about the idea...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother-in-law has a serious medical condition, and her health is rapidly deteriorating. Unfortunately, her failing health is not something she is willing to deal with.

My husband and I live in a different state. When we last visited, we were shocked at how bad things were. Bills were unpaid because she couldn't remember to get ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm puzzled about something. I'm a straight female senior citizen with totally white hair. Although I think I am still quite attractive, I do look like a senior citizen. I would like to know whether there is any truth to a rumor I recently heard that today's lesbians are attracted to older women with white hair.

In the past two ...Read more