ArcaMax

Dear Annie: In more than 35 years of marriage, my husband and I have had conversations on a wide variety of topics. However, almost every day for the past two years, he has ranted about political issues after watching a news program or reading an article on a website. During these rants, he sometimes gets emotional, even angry. I start feeling...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a problem with my neighbor. I don't know whether it's her or me. She is a great neighbor, has become a friend, is always helpful and is kindhearted. But the thing is that she seems too controlling. She pressures me to do things with her. Sometimes it works out well and I'm glad she pressured me to do an activity that I found...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 50-something woman who's been married for 35 years. About a year ago, to spice up our marriage, I started sending my husband seductive pictures of myself during the day. He really loved them and wanted more. Over time, the pictures I sent him got more daring. One of his co-workers accidentally saw one of the pictures and ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a friend who I think is a snoop, though she's otherwise a very nice person. She has admitted to looking in her sister-in-law's closet when said sister-in-law was not home.

I haven't actually seen her looking through my stuff, but I once found her with her hand on the doorknob of my laundry. I feel sure she was looking while...Read more

Dear Annie: "Nicole" and I have been friends since the time she started at my school. She can be a good friend, but what she does outside of being a friend is questionable, and I think being around her is becoming toxic.

Nicole's ex-boyfriend, "Matt," told me that Nicole's mom is constantly drunk and passes out on the couch. Nicole and her ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother-in-law is a very good person deep down. She is a joy to be around -- when she's sober. But more and more lately, she is not. And when she's not, she is hateful and vindictive and blames everyone else for her problems. She has gone so far recently as to tell me something happened to my 2-year-old son when she was watching ...Read more

Dear Annie: "Lindsay" and I dated for 2 1/2 years. Our breakup wasn't the worst, but it wasn't a walk in the park, either. I had just packed up my life and moved across the country with her to relocate for her job, and a week after we got there, she dumped me. I was blindsided. It took a while to pick myself back up, but eventually I did, and ...Read more

Dear Annie: We know an elderly couple who are on a very low income, and we have helped them a lot. Not long ago, their car needed to be fixed, and my husband paid the garage and gave the mechanic a tip. We did this not expecting repayment. Well, the woman has gotten angry at us for not letting her repay us, which she cannot afford to do. It ...Read more

Dear Annie: "Pete" was a friend of mine. He was 20 years older than I and died at the age of 87. He worked hard his entire life and retired with his wife, and they lived in a small but nice house in Palm Springs. They didn't spend much money and had just enough for a comfortable retirement. Their main source of wealth was their house, which ...Read more

Dear Annie: How does one breakup with her hairstylist of more than 30 years? Mine knows my children and grandchildren, and I know hers. During my haircuts, we have exchanged stories of our families throughout the years, but we have no contact socially. I am ready for a change for several reasons but do not want to hurt her feelings. It would ...Read more

Dear Annie: My love life is a disaster. Ten years ago, I had a long-distance relationship with a lady. On Thanksgiving night, I was on the couch with her struggling with whether I should propose. I sensed that my employer would soon cut my job and I would not be able to support either her or myself. Two minutes before my ride home showed up, ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for eight years. My first marriage ended because my ex was a serial cheater and all-around creep. "Mike" seemed to be the exact opposite. However, shortly after we were married, I found out he was checking out dating sites. I confronted him, and he deleted his accounts.

Then, about two years ago,...Read more

Dear Annie: About six months ago, a friend confided in me that he had been sexually assaulted a year prior by a blind date. After watching an episode of "ER," we were talking about sexually transmitted infections, and he mentioned needing to get tested, which brought up the revelation of his assault. He was very straightforward about telling ...Read more

Dear Annie: What advice would you give to a divorced man regarding "moving on"? My boyfriend and his ex-wife have been divorced for 10 years, yet she continues to manipulate him and behave spitefully toward him. She and their adult children show no consideration for my boyfriend's wishes. And I see him do a lot of tiptoeing because God forbid ...Read more

Dear Annie: One of my elderly relatives is a real sweetheart, but she also is quite a talker. Our phone conversations go on and on -- for 45 minutes or longer. I do not want to hurt her feelings, but her conversational skills far exceed my listening skills. The only way I can get a word in is to interrupt her from time to time. How can I ...Read more

Dear Annie: I need some advice on what to do about my daily journals. I keep a daily journal and have for many years -- including during a time when my husband was an alcoholic. He's been sober for 27 years. (We are in our late 70s.)

In those journals, I wrote about the times he got drunk -- of his stumbling around in a drunken stupor, of his...Read more

Dear Annie: My 26-year-old daughter is in a serious relationship with a partner 10 years her senior. He comes to the partnership with an established home. What would you advise my daughter to expect or require going into this marriage-like arrangement? Should she expect to be put on the house deed as soon as they are married? What would be ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 29 years. Three years ago, I discovered that he was having an affair. He claimed that the affair was ending anyway, that he loved me and that he wasn't interested in being with the other woman. We went to counseling, together and separately, but after about nine months, he said he wanted a ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife passed away in 2003. We had two children, who were 5 and 7 at the time. They were pretty spoiled. They have children of their own now and never seem to have time to come and visit me but always seem to have time for their boyfriends' families. They always break dates with me and then post on Facebook about what a wonderful ...Read more

Dear Annie: With summer in full swing, we are preparing for and going to lots of barbecues. I am always grateful when our family is invited over for a barbecue on a nice summer night. The problem is that I'm a vegetarian. Every time we go to a friend's barbecue, I can't find anything to eat. I usually just politely say it's fine and take a bun...Read more