ArcaMax

I haven't spent much time with them and his siblings' significant others, so I haven't noticed how their other in-laws address them. I'm open to suggestions.

-- Terms of Endearment Needed

Dear Terms: Reframe how you view calling people by name. You call your husband by his name; your friends are addressed by their names. The sentiment and affection matters more than the form of address.

You could check with other in-laws or significant others in your generation group to see if these parents have expressed a preference with them.

Over the years, when I have addressed this in my column, people report that the very best way to settle this is directly, and early on in the relationship. You're still technically in the "early" column, and so I suggest that you frame a very warmly worded email: "... you have received me so warmly into your family; I truly feel that you are my family. I'm wondering how you would like me to address you? Would you prefer that I call you by your first names, or would it be OK with you if I addressed you as 'Mom' and 'Dad?'"

Dear Amy: I was amused by the question from "Devastated Wife," who actually blamed cellphones for her husband's infidelity. Thank you for pointing out the obvious: that infidelity preceded this technology.

-- Faithful

Dear Faithful: This wife was clearly still in the throes of her reaction to her husband's choice to cheat on her. The guy, not his phone, is responsible.

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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook.)