ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend who lived in my home most of the time for about six years. During that period, she rented out rooms in her house. She paid her bills, and I paid mine, but I covered her living off me. At the time, it didn't bother me much because I could afford it, although I would have preferred to save that money.

I have since sold ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I work retail and have bipolar disorder. (I have been stable for nine years.) A few Christmases ago, a customer called me hateful because I wished her a Merry Christmas. (She doesn't come into the store anymore.) My manager and co-workers explained that she was in a bad mood that day, and it wasn't my fault.

Due to my illness, I am ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a great guy for two years. We each have two kids from a previous marriage. I am still legally married (separated almost three years) and am in the process of divorcing. My ex is stubborn and vindictive. He's dragging this whole thing out for no good reason other than to spite me.

I brought up the issue of moving in...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My companion of many years and I are retired and live a few hours away from some of his family. When one of them plans a visit, she always insists on taking us out for a meal. She doesn't ask if we would like to eat out but rather commands it. Then she insists on paying for the meal.

I enjoy cooking and visiting with family during ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been dating for a year. He's amazing, and I can see myself marrying him and having a family one day. There is only one problem. We are healthy in our arguments EXCEPT when his job is brought up. He's applying to go into the police academy.

I have always told people I would never be with a cop because of my own...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 19-year-old male and suffer from a predicament. Let's just say my package has been delivered undersized. It is depressing, and it has held me back from going after girls. I decline dates because I feel so self-conscious.

Now, people are starting to ask me why I haven't had a girlfriend yet. The truth is, I'm terrified about the...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a woman in my 50s who has been the family screw-up since I was a teenager. Eighteen months ago, I screwed up in the worst way possible. Without my husband's knowledge, I started robbing Peter to pay Paul with the bills. The end result: I lost us everything (home, vehicle, etc.).

He is a good man, and he deserved so much better ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am 7 1/2 months pregnant, living with my fiance, his cousin, his cousin's girlfriend and her little brother, who she has custody of. (He will be 18 in a few months.) I do all the house cleaning and have for the last year and a half. I constantly pick up after them after work.

The cousin's girlfriend (Queen Slob) is the worst of the...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been divorced for 26 years. I have been engaged a couple of times since, but never made it back to the altar. My ex-wife has now permanently separated from her second husband. I have helped her financially and emotionally through a couple of stressful situations in the interim due to her second husband.

I became available ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have a 22-year-old daughter, Cara, who is having a relationship with a 65-year-old man, Gary. We do not approve of the relationship.

Gary is going through a divorce, and Cara has moved into his rented condo with him. She just graduated from college. She doesn't have a job, has no money and drives an old car. She was ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I work and have a family and live five hours from where I grew up. My mom isn't in the best health and neither is her husband. While I try to visit as often as I can, she always wants me to visit more often, which I understand.

The problem is, she keeps asking us to leave our 5-year-old son with her for long weekends or to spend a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: This letter is for women who have stepchildren or are considering marriage to a man with children. My second marriage of 20 years is in limbo with no closure. My three adult stepchildren took my husband away from our home two years ago. He was having some cognitive dementia, but we were doing well in our home. After a fall, everything...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to a wonderful man for six years, and we've been together for 10. We bought a house a few years ago, and since then our sex life has significantly decreased. I know the stress of being homeowners hasn't helped our situation, and over the last year I have felt like I'm falling out of love.

A few weeks ago, I ran ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband has lost a significant amount of weight over a very short period of time. He isn't on drugs and eats well. I have begged him to see a doctor. He has come up with a variety of excuses and reasons why he has lost the weight. First it was because he was stressed at work. Then it was because he was stressed at home. Now he says...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 40-year-old mom of two girls who has been single for five years. In that time, I've dated a few men, but haven't found one who fulfills my wish list.

The last man I was interested in seemed like he had possibilities. There was a strong mutual attraction. We spent a lot of time together, went on dates and were physically ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My 20-year-old daughter has been dating a wonderful young man for two years. He's 21, almost 22. He treats her exceptionally well.

She has decided on a whim that she has an itch to know what it's like to be with other people! (They were each other's first everything.) I do understand that thought or itch, but I don't feel it NEEDS to...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm in a relationship with a man who lives eight hours away. We met last year through a dating site while he was in my area on a business trip but lost contact shortly after he returned home. We recently reconnected and have been talking and/or texting daily since. I'm looking for a job in his area, and he is in favor of that.

Ever ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My aunt is a perfectionist who loves hosting get-togethers at her house once a week. I love being at home on a day off, so I can get chores done around the house and catch up on rest. I feel like I'm suffocating when she insists on including me, because it is time away from my home on a Sunday or a holiday.

When I attend, I feel like...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently started a romantic relationship with Doug, a guy I have been chasing for a while. My friend Cassie helped to set us up, and I am grateful. Doug and I talk every night and are very close.

Cassie has a reputation for being a flirt, but I didn't think much of it. As the months have progressed, I notice her talking to my ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I grew up not knowing who my biological father was. When I met him for the first time, I was 18. When we met, I felt I had found a piece of who I was. I loved him immediately, as if I had known him my whole life.

We talked and hung out for the next four months until I moved in with him to escape an abusive relationship. I was ...Read more