ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I have been seeing my partner, "Gil," for five years. After my husband passed, Gil came into my life again. We had been colleagues about 10 years prior. We always had a spark but never acted on it, as I was deeply committed to my late husband.

After the funeral, Gil came into my life with guns blazing. We struck up a friendship, and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am 57 and have been married for 32 years to my husband, who retired from his full-time job last year. I still work full time. Since his retirement, he has been going to a bar once a week or so, spending a few hours visiting with the customers and staff.

One of the staff has taken an interest in being his "buddy." My husband is ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I live five hours away from my hometown. My mom is 98 and in assisted living there. In recent years, my younger sister has become cruel to our mom and is trying to take advantage of her.

Instead of helping Mom, she does things to deliberately upset her and raise her blood pressure. Two examples: putting dog poop on my recently ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am worried about my 21-year-old son, "Travis." He hasn't quite left our home that he shares with me and my husband, but he sleeps here only one or two nights. He's in school part time and works part time, which means working or studying long hours until morning.

What concerns me is where he's staying. He refuses to reveal his ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently received a voicemail from my brother that recorded a conversation he was having with his wife. It was clear he didn't know he had accidentally dialed my phone during this conversation. It was an argument, which lasted two minutes before there was a pause in the conversation and he hung up.

I haven't addressed it with him ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: In a few days, the second anniversary of my husband's death will be here. We were together for 40 years. They weren't easy years; he had many issues, both physical and mental. I was isolated because I didn't want others to know the extent of what I lived with every day. I cared deeply for him, and as his wife, it was for better or ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 23-year-old college graduate who was lucky enough to land a job in my field of study. The job is located in my hometown. Because I couldn't afford my own apartment, I moved back in with my parents. The situation was supposed to be temporary, but now that I can afford to move out, my parents insist that I stay with them. They ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Last year, my son, his girlfriend and two others were murdered outside a city where "things like this don't happen." My other two boys received a call to come immediately to their dad's home, where it had happened. My boys were the first to witness the bloody scene. They called 911. My son lived two days more. Today would have been ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After years of disappointment, I finally found the man of my dreams. How do I tell him he isn't doing certain things right in the bedroom without it being uncomfortable? I have mentioned it before, but it didn't stick. This is the only problem with our relationship. I don't want to hurt his feelings or make either one of us ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been happily married for 12 years. We have a beautiful family -- a 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. My husband is not close with his side of the family. We are very close to mine. My husband has a brother my kids have never met. He has two great-nieces and one great- nephew whom none of us have met. He...Read more

DEAR ABBY: The grocery store a mile from our house has recently gone through a major expansion and upgrade. I have shopped there my entire life. The store has two points of ingress and egress. I have always entered through the door most convenient for me. If what I need is on the east side of the store, I enter and exit via the closest door.

...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my wife for 40 years, including 32 years of marriage. I have done the best I could as a boyfriend, a fiance, a husband and a father to our two adult children, and I continue to do so today.

Until 10 years ago, I thought we had the best marriage possible. Then my wife entered menopause and everything changed. I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: When my ex-wife died recently, she left our two children (in their 20s and 30s) a home that was in her name. My son has a good job; my daughter works periodically as a model. Losing her devastated both of them. The home she left them is not only in bad shape but also needs repairs and zoning and permitting updates.

I earn a good ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I live in a very small town. My husband died a year ago and, since then, I have felt like some of these people are angry with me. Six months after he died, I had what my therapist called a "nervous breakdown." I know I wasn't myself for some time, and I can't remember much of what I did or said. I have been told I said things to close...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I need help! I am a 50-plus-year-old, married, well-educated woman. I am also a kleptomaniac and I'm not proud of it. It started a few years back when I accidentally left an item in my shopping cart. Since then, I have found it easy to take things -- shoes, makeup, jewelry, clothing.

I am out of control. I know it's wrong. I tell ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 48-year-old woman. When I was 17, I hooked up with this guy who was part of my friend group. I knew he had a crush on me, so I decided to have sex with him in his car. It meant nothing to me, but everything to him.

He has tried to reach me over the years. If I was married, he was single. After my first husband died, I did meet ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a mother of three girls, 25, 21 and about to be 15. My youngest has always lived with me. Her father and I separated when she was 1. They always had a good relationship. Over the last couple of years, after he moved to another state and married, our co-parenting relationship has changed for the worse.

My youngest has always ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have hemifacial spasm (HFS), a relatively rare disorder characterized by random and uncontrollable spasms on one side of the face. HFS can sometimes be alleviated through surgery and/or treated with Botox injections. HFS makes social contact challenging when the face contorts for no apparent reason, sometimes with accompanying ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a woman in my mid-20s who has had only abusive, toxic and horrendous relationships after entering adulthood. Since high school, I have spent years trying to find a "good guy" who will treat me with respect and love me unconditionally.

I made a friend online two years ago who I began recording music and podcasts with. He lives in...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was once a stay-at-home wife. I did all the cooking, housekeeping, etc. Due to a downturn in the industry where my husband was a highly paid executive, he returned to a health-care career using his bachelor's degree. I returned to work in a well-paying but demanding job.

So now I cook, we eat. He sits down to watch TV, and I clean ...Read more