ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: My mother is in a locked ward of a nursing home because she has Alzheimer's and is a flight risk. My stepfather has begun dating her best friend. He doesn't consider it dating because, at 85, he's no longer capable of having a physical relationship. However, taking someone to dinner, the theater, church or to a movie constitutes a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for eight years. He has always been independent. He works full time and goes to bars with (single) co-workers four or five nights a week and stays until I'm in bed. He also likes his weekends to be his me time to decompress from all the socializing he does during the week.

I have become independent ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I retired five years ago and moved to a small town where my two daughters and two grown grandchildren live. We moved here from another state to be near them and other relatives who live closer, but not in this city.

I am sad and hurt by the way one of my daughters treats me. She almost never invites us to her home -- ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently landed a new job and was excited about doing work that would be directly in line with my education and background. I left a job of more than a decade to pursue this field. My problem is, I'm being asked to carry luggage, make coffee, run errands, etc. This was not in my job description, nor was it what I was hired for.

...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 37 years. During that time, my husband has cheated on me and fathered several children.

As we have grown older, I have begun to think about final arrangements. If he dies, would I be wrong for not giving him a funeral or memorial service or having one for his sisters and brothers? I feel it would be ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a busy woman. My friend Adele was calling me excessively on my cellphone. She would call up to three times every day, even when I was at work. When I would take her call, she'd start questioning me, asking me what I was so busy with. At times she would lecture me about things she thought I should be doing.

Her perfectionism and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I just found out my husband of 18 years has been going to hook-up websites. He says he was just looking at the pictures, but I don't believe him. I have caught him cheating twice in the past, so it's hard to trust him.

My problem is, he knows I can't leave him because I have no job, no skills, no money -- nothing. I went right from ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a great guy for a year and a half. He's funny, smart, and when he comes to my house, he washes my dishes and plays with my son. He is attentive, and he cooks for me. He is always buying me little things like a desk coffee heater because he knows I love hot coffee, or smart bulbs that create cool colors in the living...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I married someone who turned out to be very abusive and controlling of me and the kids. I felt powerless to leave with them because of the emotional control, and I had no way to make a living to support them.

They are all adults now, and three of them have been in unhealthy relationships. I know their example of a good marriage or a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I relocated to a warmer climate a few years ago, putting us more than 1,000 miles away from my adult children. The kids all seem to think this trip was just for fun, and continue to ask me to come home.

All three of them are busy with their own well-rounded lives, and the last few years we were there, their visits ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Is there a delicate way for me to tell my boyfriend not to use the same online floral delivery service again? The birthday bouquet he had delivered to me arrived with limp, wilted, torn petals and leaves and broken stems. It was one of those box-of-flowers deliveries.

I doubt my boyfriend realized they would not arrive in a vase and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year. I love him, and we have an undeniable connection I have never had with anyone else. The problem is, he's separated but not yet divorced from his wife.

I have a hard time moving forward in the relationship and meeting his family when he hasn't filed for divorce. He says he's going to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: When I was a junior in high school, I sustained a neck injury (at school) that damaged my spinal cord. I recovered mostly from that, but I have residual weakness in my right side and severe neck pain. I was able to work until, at 57, I had to go on disability. Because of that, my financial situation is difficult, increasingly so now ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm engaged to a wonderful guy. He is very sweet, and I'm beyond thankful for him. I wouldn't trade him for the world. But he has a character flaw that's hard to ignore. When he gets frustrated, he screams out loud and takes a while to get himself together.

When he lost his phone on a plane and was angry for hours, he pouted and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 25-year-old college student on the verge of graduation. Over the past three months, I have been dating a slightly younger man (he's 21). We get along well, and I thoroughly enjoy his company. He has never been anything but kind and supportive.

My parents have an issue with the match. My boyfriend is Latino, born and raised in ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend of two years and I recently moved in together. When we first met, he let me know he had lost his father to cancer a few years prior. While I know a little about his father, it is mostly superficial.

As our relationship has progressed -- moving in, talking about our future -- I long to know more about his dad. What kind ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Parents frequently write to you asking for advice about their children, seemingly asking permission to butt in where they should not.

When I was in my 20s, I dated a guy who had just returned from the Navy. I saw him -- and others -- while working and going to college. Sometimes I'd drive 40 miles to visit him and stay with my mother...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have had a friend, Kimberly, for 52 years, ever since first grade. We went all through school together. Teachers described her as a social butterfly. My dad described her as a phony. She's an extrovert with a nice personality and many friends. I am more of an introvert, but I do have a few good friends. We are both happily married ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Thirty years ago, a friend of my husband's roommate passed away of AIDS and was cremated. His family had ostracized him. I have no idea who they are or where they are. The roommate left and later died, also from AIDS. He left his friend's ashes in his old room in my husband's house in the San Francisco Bay area with instructions to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: We need advice about how to respond to friends and family who poke fun or show disdain because of our healthy lifestyle. We are in our 60s. We rarely eat out, and when we do, we avoid fast food. We cook most of our meals with an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, fish and chicken. We exercise regularly and have occasional treats. We have...Read more