ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I have a 59-year-old brother-in-law who has always been a proud bachelor. He isn't a rich, handsome, George Clooney-type bachelor, but a hand-to-mouth, burping, uncouth Shallow Hal kind of bachelor. He befriended a woman with four daughters, paying most of his attention to one of the daughters. He would take the woman and her girls to...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A dear friend has been battling cervical cancer. Her condition has left her dependent on a colostomy bag. She's not shy about discussing it on Facebook and in public, where she speaks loudly. I have tried to be understanding and supportive, but there are limits.

My problem is, she's hell-bent on making sure I see this colostomy bag ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been happily married for two years. We both want biological children later, when the timing is right.

A while ago, some friends adopted a little girl from Russia. The girl was orphaned and badly in need of medical treatment. Our friends got her everything she needed and more, and I was touched by the experience ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I got a stepdad when I was a young teen. He never tried to replace my dad, and was very respectful of that relationship. I didn't regard him as a father figure, but more as a relative, friend, and a good man who has done a lot of good for my family.

I'm a young adult now. My real dad died recently. Father's Day is now just a painful ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My very best friend growing up was repeatedly raped by her father from around age 13. She told me when we were 17. I reported it to a policeman, but back then, they couldn't do anything unless she reported it. She refused in order to protect her mother.

Her mom is gone now, but dear old Dad is still hanging on. He lives in a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My mother-in-law constantly talks to my husband about committing suicide because she's not happy with her life or her husband. My husband worries all the time and has offered to let her come stay with us for a while.

To me, this would be a nightmare. I can't be around her more than two or three days, and she has hinted that she would...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband, who is retired, now prefers to talk exclusively to people under 21. He says he is mentoring them, though I haven't seen any indication of this.

He says he has no interest in talking to people our age, so when we get together with our friends, who are mostly our age, he says practically nothing. When I asked why, he said ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been dating for a year and a half. We are planning on moving to California together in a few months.

I flew to Monterey to job hunt, and he is supposed to be flying in soon. However, last night I found out he and his buddy went to a strip club. My boyfriend knows I'm uncomfortable with him going to strip clubs...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm turning 17 and live with my dad and his girlfriend. They have broken up four times, causing my dad and me to retreat to the basement where we live the peaceful, happy life we did before he met her.

When they first started dating, she was very nice, and I liked her. However, because my mom is gone, she decided to assume the role ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have some suggestions for Longing to Be a Mom (Feb. 27), whose husband doesn't want a child. If you talk your husband into it, are you prepared to do all the parenting while he sits staring at the TV or starts working longer hours or worse? Are you prepared for the lack of connection that child might have with his/her father?

...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I tend to react poorly when someone pulls a prank on me. My reaction is usually anger, hurt or embarrassment, and I end up saying or doing things I later regret because emotion took over.

My husband has always liked playing pranks, and my children have started to follow his lead. The pranks tend to be things like ice down the back of...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm 16 and my parents are getting a divorce. It is really hard. They put me in the middle a lot in their arguments, like I'm a counselor. I have told them repeatedly I don't like it, and they promise it won't happen again, but it does.

They both tell me their sides of the story, but they never bother to listen to my feelings and what...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend who brags nonstop about her boyfriend, her job, her new car, etc. She only comes out of the woodwork every so often to text me things like, Roy just got a $13 raise at work! I respond with wholehearted support and congratulations, then don't hear from her again until days later, when I receive another text saying ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My brother-in-law died a month ago and was cremated by the local affiliate of a prominent funeral home. To make it easier for my sister, I accompanied her to the mortuary to pick up her husband's remains. I walked in alone, and as I returned to the car with his urn, a young funeral home employee in a black suit and scuffed shoes ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are both active duty military. We have been married for three years and have an 18-month-old daughter together. My husband is sweet, handsome and a great father. We got married very quickly, and I think that's where our problems began.

He isn't good at communication or showing affection, which leaves me feeling ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Twelve years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. It was a difficult pregnancy and delivery due to a medical condition my daughter was diagnosed with in the womb. The doctors let my husband and me know there could be problems during the delivery. We needed to make a decision. If things went wrong, we had to choose between my ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have rekindled a romance from my youth. Jerry and I were engaged to be married 47 years ago, but I felt he was too worldly and fast for me, so I broke off the engagement. I later married and had a happy marriage for 36 years until my husband died.

Jerry found me on Facebook and started writing. Abby, he has been married and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My daughter is 17. When she was 1, she had leukemia. The treatments have left her with chronic pain as well as some disabilities that she deals with.

She's now a senior in high school, but looks like she's 7 or 8. She yearns for what every teen girl wants -- a boyfriend. The problem is, no one wants to date her. It's not because of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I read your letters every chance I get. They remind me that I'm not the only one with problems, but sometimes I just feel so empty.

I have random bouts where anything can send me into a crying jag and all I want to do is hide and go to sleep. I can be watching a funny TV show and out of nowhere feel like I need to run away and cry. ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My son Jeff is wealthy and lives in another state with his wife and family. His wife has now moved her mother to where they live and she works for my son. Jeff and his family take vacations several times a year in the U.S. and out of it, and always include her mother or her father and his wife.

Two months ago, he invited his sister ...Read more