ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I am a 42-year-old mother of three who has been in a relationship with a man for almost six years. He is incarcerated. We started out as friends. Things were great until this year, when he reconnected with an old girlfriend.

I had a conversation with her over Facebook, and she wanted to invite me out for coffee one day. I ended up ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm eight months pregnant with my first child. My usually happy and positive mother is becoming increasingly quick to become negative or angry. The change in her personality has my husband and me concerned about our little one growing up around her.

We don't want our child to assume these characteristics by imitating her grandmother....Read more

DEAR ABBY: Eileen and I have been friends for 21 years. She's been supportive through my life's ups and downs, even though I've twice moved several states away. She has always made me laugh.

Abby, over the years, she has increasingly flaunted her spending habits, bragging about how much she spent on her son's birthday or Christmas gifts or home...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I've dealt with anxiety and depression for decades, but I'm finally on a medication that works for me. I'm in my 40s and feel emotionally stable for the first time in my adult life. When I started the medication, I was in a bad place, but after a few months I broke up with my partner and began focusing on my career.

It has been a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: When my boyfriend talks about women, he doesn't always refer to them by their name. In most cases, I don't know the individual. But even if he does refer to her by name, what bothers me is he always follows it by describing her boobs (i.e., the one with the big boobs, she has got to be at least a 42D, they stick straight out, or, she'...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My brother and I are in our 40s. We live several states apart and visit each other a couple times a year. We are both very active but on different time schedules. I'm a morning person who has been getting up at 5 a.m. for so many years my body will not sleep past then. He's a night owl. He sleeps until 10 a.m. and expects to be doing ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have two younger sisters -- Mara and Talia. We grew up very close, thick as thieves. However, as adults, my relationship with Mara has gone from strained to nonexistent, especially as I've grown closer to my youngest sister, Talia.

Mara gave birth to her first child five years ago, and since then, she has cut everyone out of her ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 35-year-old woman whose father refuses to get along with me no matter how hard I try. Our relationship was always strained due to the alcoholism he has struggled with since my childhood, made worse by the fact that I became an addict. I've been in recovery for a while, and I'm clean and sober now.

He and my mother took ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My parents separated nearly 20 years ago. My father, who is retired, has been living alone for many years. I suspect he gets scammed for money on the internet. I know for sure it has happened twice. I have talked to him about it more than once. He routinely forwards me emails to check if they are legitimate. However, I think he falls ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a divorcee who has reconnected with a childhood neighbor, Levi. He was physically assaulted as a teenager and badly injured. He has made almost a complete recovery, but has a metal plate in his skull and a traumatic brain injury. We have always been friends, and after my divorce, he asked me out.

It felt strange, akin to dating ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married 45 years. It may not be the most loving or agreeable marriage, but it has always been steady, nonviolent and monogamous. Last year I had COVID, and I now have long-term symptoms with compromised immunity.

I recently had a bad outbreak of genital herpes. My doctor told me it can lay dormant for many years -- but 45...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently backed out of an adoption. I feel terrible about it. How can I mentally and emotionally get over this? My baby girl is 4 months old now, and my guilt is getting worse. I backed out three days before she was born.

The couple I had chosen turned out to be unprofessional and emotionally unstable. They not only caused me ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A lady friend of mine I've known for more than 20 years and I recently lost our spouses to COVID in the same hospital, four rooms apart from each other. During the 2 1/2 weeks that our spouses were in the hospital, we visited, prayed for and offered comfort to each other, as well as after their passing.

Throughout the years, we had ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Our son married a psychotherapist who is very controlling. From the beginning, she did not like me, which was obvious from her words and actions. She has convinced our son that I was a bad mother, and he hasn't spoken to me in more than four years. He also shuns every other member of our family.

We are heartbroken. We were a close ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I used to collect vintage dresses, many of which I bought online from retailers for several hundred dollars each. I reluctantly sold some on consignment after a breakup -- you know, out with the old, in with the new. But I kept ones that were beautiful works of vintage art.

A friend of mine (I'll call her Gabbi) likes to sew, and I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have an acquaintance I have known for 10 years. He is homeless and a heroin addict. His addiction has gotten worse over the last year and it is really bad now. He shows up at my home at all times of the night, sleeps on my porch and leaves wet, dirty clothes behind. He comes over high on heroin, nods out and acts very strange. I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My ex-husband and I have been divorced 24 years and, now that our children are grown, we have minimal contact. We see and speak to each other only when there's a wedding or a birthday party for our grandson.

Three years ago, our 34-year-old son went to work for his father with the promise that someday the business would be his. Our ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: You often respond to grandparents who are disappointed that their grandchildren have not written a note to express gratitude for a recent present. Personally, I think one of the main reasons they don't is the simple fact that they lack thank-you cards and stamps. (Their parents may not be writing thank-you notes anymore.) When I'm at ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife works from home, and we are having a disagreement about the home workspace. She says I interrupt her too much and shouldn't talk to her so often. While I agree with that, I don't agree with her roaming around the house with her laptop while she's in meetings. If I turn on the TV, listen to music or talk on the phone, she gets ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been married for 21 (mostly) happy years. However, last year I had an affair that lasted for several months. I confessed to my wife, and we separated for about a month while I tried to evaluate what I should do. In the end, I returned home and asked for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Obviously, my wife has ...Read more