ArcaMax

Dear Annie: Perhaps you can help me understand the biggest mystery of my life. I was an unwanted, unloved child -- a third girl with a brother three years younger than me. My oldest sister, who is 10 years my senior, was a child born in an earlier marriage. She lived with her maternal grandmother until she was about 12 or 13, and her ...Read more

Dear Annie: I thought I would share some fantastic advice my husband and I received from a marriage counselor a few years ago during a very difficult patch in our 28-year relationship.

I tend to get worked up over things, i.e., injustices, politics, perceived slights, etc. My husband tends to underreact as a result, thinking he will diffuse ...Read more

Dear Annie: In the waiting room of a clinic, I had to endure a long one-sided conversation by a woman on her cellphone. I can understand getting a call and quietly telling the caller that they will call them back, but people don't seem to do that.

There were at least 10 people in the waiting room, and we all had to listen to this loud, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently read your column in which you gave advice on how to deal with a toxic relationship between a mother and adult daughter. I have a similar issue with my 26-year-old daughter who lives with me after my recent divorce. Long story short, my daughter and I have had a tumultuous relationship since she was about 12. Every time ...Read more

Dear Annie: Back in the 1960s, my father inherited some land with houses on it from his uncle who raised him. For some reason, he let his sister, my aunt, and her family move into one of the houses rent-free.

In 2002, my father died. My sister, my brother and I inherited the property. I bought my brother and sister out at an agreed price. My ...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I don't really keep track of our spending, but we try to make it pretty even by trading off who pays for different expenses -- groceries, date nights, travel costs, etc. We both have good jobs, and we make about the same amount of money.

Recently, however, we sat down to look at our finances and our monthly ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 67 years old and not getting along well with my oldest daughter, who is 48.

She has a job, and she moved back to our town six years ago with my three grandchildren. I let them live with me in the house that I paid off 30 years ago and still pay taxes on and insurance. The grandchildren are a 27-year-old who has a job, a 20-...Read more

Dear Annie: After reading the letter about the wife who is out capturing feral cats for spaying and neutering, you should be aware of the Herman Bennett Foundation, which provides free vouchers to vets to cover the costs. I'm sure there are other organizations as well that would help with the costs.

What she is doing is so valuable, not only ...Read more

Dear Annie: I wanted to offer a little encouragement to "Opposites" about his relationship. You were correct in saying that sometimes relationships between opposite personality types can be the best. I've been in one for 28 years.

My husband and I were definite opposites when we were married. I'm an extroverted introvert, and he was ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a wedding invitation etiquette question.

My niece is getting married and has only invited five of her six cousins. The one cousin not invited happens to be one of my sons. I am very upset that she has chosen not to invite him. We have not had many family gatherings since the pandemic. My mother passed last year, and the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been with my girlfriend for seven years and lived with her for four. She wants to get married and have kids. For the past three years, I've promised to propose every six months, but when the time comes, I back out. I even went ring shopping but couldn't pull the trigger.

Although I want to get married and have kids one day, ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband does not like my sister. He says she reminds him too much of his ex-wife. It has now come to the point where he doesn't want to be around her. This is making it very difficult to see my whole family. They live in Canada, and we are planning a trip there to visit them, seeing as my father's mental health is getting bad.

...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister "Kendra" and I are not very close and only communicate two to three times per year, mainly in emails. Kendra sold her home and moved out of state. Through our sibling, I heard that she listed her house high to begin with and had to come down on her price in the end but made a decent amount on it. I never commented on how ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been reading your column for a long time, and I admire how reasonable and nonjudgmental your advice seems to be.

My husband and I were childhood sweethearts. We are currently separated, and I am concerned that this might lead to divorce.

This is my second marriage. We have two children. Our first child was born in February ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son's wife was pregnant with their third child in November 2021. At that time, even though my wife is severely handicapped, I offered to come over and spend time with the "grandkids" while she gave birth. She called in December and said, "Pop, I'm in labor." I said, "Don't worry, I'll look in on the kids while you all are in the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 45-year-old woman, and my boyfriend is 36. His family loves me, except for his dad. I don't know what I have done for him to dislike me. I should say that at one point, in the past, he used to like me.

When my boyfriend's mom was diagnosed with cancer, I was there each time she was in the hospital. My boyfriend and I would ...Read more

Dear Annie: I love your column and am writing to offer a different point of view for the woman whose family does not celebrate her birthday or Mother's Day or Christmas the way she wants. She says she gives them presents, but they don't reciprocate.

Well, I have a friend who goes overboard in celebrating these holidays. She will spend an ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are a young couple. We've finally decided to take the leap and are getting ready to move down south and start living the life we've dreamed about. Our families would rather have us stay close and don't want us to leave. My parents are financially set for the rest of their lives and have their retirement planned out ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been in a long-distance, exclusive, monogamous relationship for over a year now. I met him at work (we both work remotely), and he reached out and made his feelings clear. We had a work relationship to begin with, so we were always in touch, and feelings just grew.

We have never met in person but video chat and talk multiple ...Read more

Dear Annie: Last weekend, my beloved sister died from Alzheimer's after a very long, difficult and painful decline. I was her sole caretaker for the past three years because my other sisters live too far away to help. I was with my sister up until the moment she died, working with hospice to try to make it easier for her and communicating her ...Read more