ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I took exception to your response to Former Friend in Oregon (July 1), who vaped marijuana while visiting a friend in the presence of the friend's 12-year-old future stepdaughter. The friend made a mistake, for which she apologized profusely. She had flown cross-country to visit her pregnant best friend, no small thing. Flying can ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm nearing 57 and single. My mother, who is 78, lives in the same apartment complex. I always try to talk with her because we don't have much time together. All she wants to do is watch TV and read the paper. She allows me to talk to her for about a half-hour a day, then she has to go. If I visit her, she can only talk to me for a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married more than 30 years. We have a problem I cannot seem to get past: We didn't have a church wedding because he threatened not to marry me if I demanded one. I went along with him because of my low self-esteem, and I'm still sad and angry about it. He also refuses to take vacations with me because he ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 25-year-old woman. My fiance is 26. Both of us live at home with our parents but have decided to move out in a few months to an apartment. Although his parents have given their blessing, my parents are against it and keep trying to change my mind.

Abby, I have been wanting to leave for years. Both of us are experiencing ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a minor living at home with my parents and my brother. Everything's pretty stable. Mom works, but she isn't gone all the time or anything like that. However, I have a lot of problems with my dad.

He has Asperger's syndrome, and his behavior has caused many issues for me. The least of them is that every time I try to talk about ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I drive a classic car to work every day at a construction site. Since I began working there this summer, people often ask me about selling it. Most of the time I take it as a compliment and tell them it is not for sale currently, but the same people often continue to ask. It is starting to get on my nerves. I have even seen people ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: When I found out a few months ago that my husband of 24 years had been having affairs with several men, it devastated me. I have gone to counseling to try to deal with the pain and depression I now suffer from. He's in counseling for himself as well, and we are also in couple's counseling to see if our marriage is salvageable. He ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have a former high school classmate who, over the years, I've gotten pretty close to. He has been there for me when I was at my lowest, and I have been there for him as well. He lives several hours away, but we talked almost daily in addition to being on social media.

A few months ago I stopped hearing from him, and his social ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was deeply hurt after going to a barbecue at my oldest daughter's home. It was to celebrate my granddaughter's fourth birthday. My daughter's husband is from Thailand. He barbecued beautiful dishes of shrimp and something that looked like a gigantic crawfish. While my daughter is accustomed to and enjoys this food, she and her ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I hope you can answer a question for us. Two couples we were extremely close with for more than 10 years were divorced two and three years ago. We have just been told that Husband A has been secretly dating Wife B for six months. Wife A and Wife B were besties. The men were good friends, but not best friends like the women...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I love my wife very much, but we are, unfortunately, having a communication/interpretation issue. She is inquisitive and asks a lot of questions. I become defensive when I'm questioned. Sometimes I feel it shows a lack of confidence or trust in me. My wife says I am being too sensitive.

There are times when I infer a negative tone ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been in my second marriage for almost 20 years. My wife came with two grown children, who each have two kids. I have tried to be the best family man I could, and a father and grandfather who treated them like they were my own.

My wife's daughter Diana recently disrupted everything after I gave her daughter (my granddaughter) ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: After 28 years of marriage, is it strange that I would like my wife to initiate sex? I would like to know that she is interested, not just me. When I brought it up three weeks ago, her response again was, We can whenever you want to, which wasn't true because I have been turned down before. Any suggestions? She stays home all day and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a guy who is 27. I have always been somewhat shy and reserved, but I do like people and I like mixing. After more than a year of being locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic, although I was fine being housebound, I started missing human contact.

Social opportunities are opening up for me now, and though I was never great in ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am currently without a job. I hesitated to inform my mother because I was sure her reaction would only add to my stress. I was right. She constantly corners me about my efforts to find a job. I talk to her nearly every day to keep up with how she and my stepfather are doing. Because she never fails to dig into me about my job search...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A friend of 40 years is always saying what she can't afford, yet she owns property, has a 401(k), always finds additional work in her field and buys the cheapest groceries. She won't spend a dime, even when it's necessary.

In a recent text she was going on again about money. When I (jokingly) quipped, You're probably a millionaire by...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and I'm undergoing chemotherapy. My children are still in school. I have lost all my hair and wear a wig when out in the community. It closely approximates my pre-cancer hairstyle, except it's a bit shorter with highlights.

Acquaintances have seen me at events, and complimented me on my ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 16-year-old girl, and I've been struggling a little bit. My family is super-Christian. They believe that members of the LGBTQ community are sinful because of who they are. I do not agree.

I have a small group of friends. Two of them have come out to me as bi and gender-fluid. When my family talks about gay people, they say ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 41-year-old divorced woman. My two grown children live with their dad. I have been in a relationship with Sir Talks-a-Lot for 16 months. I feel like I love him, but I'm having lots of doubts. When I don't see him, it doesn't bother me. If I made a pros-and-cons list, there would be more cons than pros.

And he talks nonstop -- ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My 24-year-old son is in rehab for the second time. We paid for the first, but we are not financing this one. He has moved in and out of our home since he was 18. We have tried written agreements, but he doesn't follow them. We let him move back in after his first stay in rehab, despite the fact that he had stolen from us and had ...Read more