ArcaMax

Dear Amy: My husband has gone skiing with seven of his male peers for 17 years.

One of these friends, “Patrick,” is an alcoholic whose out-of-control behavior during previous ski trips has been difficult for them to tolerate.

Last year, Patrick was so offensive and unruly during a ski trip that it was the last straw, so the guys will not ...Read more

Dear Amy: My husband and I have four adult children, all in college. I am the main breadwinner as a professional and business owner. My husband makes one-third of my income.

My husband’s brother has made mistakes in his life, the main one being to marry an unstable, unpredictable, and irresponsible woman.

She alienated him from the rest of ...Read more

Dear Amy: My son is in prison. In a few months his sentence for drug possession and a probation violation (for possession) will be completed.

His charges are nonviolent offenses, and he has worked hard to get control over his addiction.

My son and his fiancée have a 3-year-old child together.

The fiancée and child live in our second home in...Read more

Dear Amy: My wife and I have a strained relationship with my parents, who live out of state.

They stay with us and our two young children about twice a year.

Some of their visits have been rocky (two years ago they visited us while having active cases of Covid, and didn't tell us in advance that they were ill).

My mother and I went through ...Read more

Dear Amy: My wife is a doctor who, at the beginning of the pandemic, needed to be extremely cautious about her exposure to Covid.

We asked our adult daughter, “Sarah,” to limit the circle of people she had personal contact with so we could still have in-person visits with her and our grandchildren, while protecting my wife’s patients.

...Read more

Dear Amy: My friend “Cynthia” and I have become much closer recently, as we have both gone through divorces and shared our experiences (I’m a guy).

Cynthia recently moved back into the area after living a few states away, and we have been able to go out a few times.

I am enjoying finally being on my own after a very mentally and ...Read more

Dear Amy: I was in a 13-year marriage that was quite lonely and without intimacy, but I filled those lonely moments with travel and adventure.

I finally pulled the plug after over a decade of trying to fix our broken relationship.

Enter "New Guy."

We met last year and hit it off like dynamite. He's smart, stable, attentive, and loves me.

He ...Read more

Dear Amy: My son graduated from high school recently and a few weeks later discovered, via social media, that his six best high school friends went on a graduation trip to Europe without him.

They made sure he wouldn't know about this trip ahead of time and obviously didn't invite him.

It's not clear to either of us why they did this.

He ...Read more

Dear Amy: My husband and I lost our only son, who was 27 and died by suicide.

This happened almost three years ago. We remain traumatized and grief-stricken. We do not have a large family, so support was important to help us cope with this tragedy.

My in-laws live out of state, and they did nothing to acknowledge this tragic death, nor did ...Read more

Dear Amy, I am an older woman who fell in love with a man 17 years younger than me.

I love this man with everything I have.

We met about five years ago at my home during Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately for us, his brother is married to my daughter.

I have practically raised their daughter from infancy; she's going into second grade this year.

...Read more

Dear Amy: I recently found out details of my wife’s family secrets – that her grandfather committed horrible sexual abuse against his own children.

He was never prosecuted (or even accused).

This happened back in the ’30s and ’40s when no one spoke of such things. In fact, everyone acts like nothing ever happened.

They only speak ...Read more

Dear Amy: I have twin nieces, both 29. We’ve always been close.

Their dad (my brother) is an alcoholic known to draw unwanted attention to himself.

You can imagine being teenagers and dealing with this challenge and embarrassment.

I am the “Gunkle” (gay uncle) who has always been their biggest cheerleader, helped financially for their ...Read more

Dear Amy: My 26-year-old son has been dating a girl for more than two years.

We all get along really well.

My husband and I recently moved two hours away and have stayed at their apartment approximately five times over the past eight months.

We only stay one night and usually take them out to dinner or have other fun activities with them ...Read more

Dear Amy: My 8-year-old niece is having trouble coping with and sorting out her feelings.

She is confused by her mother's abandonment of the family home and by her mother’s very erratic behavior.

One moment, her mother makes scenes over her two children not loving her, and then the next moment she is sending them out of the house on their ...Read more

Dear Amy: My daughter was recently married.

We didn’t meet her wife in person until the week of their wedding, and then they went back to Europe for work, where they both served in the military.

They both just moved back to the States and are living with us while my daughter finishes an internship.

I am shocked by her wife! She is always ...Read more

Dear Amy: I am an atheist and am keeping my spiritual beliefs close to my heart as they would offend most family members and friends who all, to various degrees, identify as believers (Christians or otherwise).

When a friend or a family member goes through seriously rough times or health issues (divorce, cancer etc.), and also in case of a ...Read more

Dear Amy: My wife and I are lucky in semi-retirement to have a cabin in the mountains, a two-hour flight away. We visit this property about once a month.

We also take a two-week vacation in Europe each year.

The problem: I like to be at the airport with time to spare, so I don't mind sitting for even an hour before boarding.

My wife, on the ...Read more

Dear Amy: I never thought I would be coping with some silly wedding drama, but our daughter (out of state) is planning her wedding.

She would like to exclude one uncle (my sister's husband) from attending.

(My sister and her husband are the only relatives that have actually visited with my daughter and her fiancé in their local city.)

As per...Read more

Dear Amy: Every year my extended family meets for a summer reunion.

Two of us are gay.

Starting when he was quite young, we assumed that my nephew was also gay.

No one talked about it, it was just assumed he'd figure it out and it wouldn't be a big deal.

Two years ago, when he was16, he started growing and dyeing his hair and wearing nail ...Read more