ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I identified with the military family who was expected to go to their parents' homes for the holidays. It could have been written by me years ago. We played that game out of a sense of duty when we were first married. It was expected, and we obliged, even though we didn't want to.

My husband is closer to my family than he is to ...Read more

Dear Readers: Thank you for your heartfelt and humbling responses to Second Wife, who is bothered that her second husband continues to carry a photo of his late wife in his billfold. These serve as an important reminder that though loved ones die, our love for them doesn't.

Dear Annie: After 20-plus years of marriage, my now-husband and I ...Read more

Dear Annie: Under what circumstances is it OK to cancel your plans with one friend in order to spend time with someone else?

I have a friend who repeatedly cancels her plans with me if she suddenly gets an invitation from someone who is higher status/more socially prominent. I've tried to talk to her about this, but she feels I am being too ...Read more

Dear Annie: I need help, but I'm so lost on what to do. Please help with some advice. I'm 52 years old and so broken. My mom passed away on Sept. 14, 2019, at home. I've had to live with my brother "Ed" ever since. Or, should I say, he has had to live with me.

I love him, but he can be such a challenge. Life is all about him. He sees a ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband is 59 years old and thinks it is OK to ogle young girls less than 18 years of age -- more like 15 to 16. He does this with me present and says it is natural behavior and that all men do it.

I say it is disrespectful to me and resembles pedophile behavior. I am 64 years old, and he had an affair with a 29-year-old female...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been in a relationship for about three years.

Both of us are estranged from our spouses. We stayed in marriages because of our children and are still married now for other reasons. We both struggled with spouses who slept around. Neither of us had a relationship outside of our marriages until now.

Before we met, my friend ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 72-year-old woman who used to live with my daughter and her family. I moved out last January.

I was asked over to their home when my oldest grandson came home with my great-grandchild in June. Other than that, I have not talked to my daughter in months.

Am I being foolish to think that she could call once in a while to ...Read more

Dear Annie: After 32 years of marriage, I still battle daily with what the truth is. My husband, who I have been with since I was 17 (over 36 years), had the "shining star syndrome."

Many of his co-workers found him to be their go-to guy when having relationship troubles in their lives. Only after being told by some female co-workers who were...Read more

Dear Annie: How much is appropriate to share in the workplace when it comes to personal matters?

In general, my husband and I get along fine. Recently, we ended up in some disagreement over not-so-important matters. Words were said that would have been better left unsaid. We were both angry. I was not proud of it. Later, I apologized.

He ...Read more

Dear Annie: I was in a nine-month relationship up until about a month ago. Without going into a lot of detail, the guy I was seeing decided to ghost me without any warning. We had a great conversation on Thursday, and then on Friday morning, he blocked my calls, emails, etc.

I have no idea what happened. Later that Thursday night, I had ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been with my significant other for almost three years now. We live together and have a pretty good life. I have a child from a previous relationship who's in high school. My significant other has no kids, but he is very involved with extracurricular activities and is a perfect example of a parent. When we first met, I was ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm struggling with a situation I can no longer handle. My husband has a long history of periodically "falling ill" with mystery illnesses the doctors treat as minor everyday issues, but which inevitably result in his being unable to function. He is not able to work, help with chores, attend family functions or care for our kid. It...Read more

Dear Annie: I enjoy reading your column in the Indianapolis Star. Today, I read the column, "How Do I Tell My Kids Our Dog Died?" I believe you were right on target when you wrote that one should avoid saying that the pets just went to sleep. After that suggestion, though, I think your answer fits into a narrow theological belief.

My ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son and his family have shut me out of their lives. It has gotten to the point where, when I see them in public, they turn away. There was never any big blowout; they just stopped coming around or talking to me.

I have apologized to them for whatever I did. I tried calling them on the phone. I've written letters and sent them ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 52-year-old man who came to this country when I was 15. I met this friend, "Tom," when I was in high school, and I spent a lot of time at his house when I was 16.

His mom, "Diane," was very kind to me, and she was 39 years old at the time. She would take me home after a visit. One night, when she was taking me home, she ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've known my friend for nine years. We dated for about two years and then broke up. We were back and forth with each other, so we decided in 2016 that we would get married, but then we ended the relationship again. We remain friends.

Toward the end of 2019, "Edward" got seriously sick. He was so sick that he had two operations ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a child with a woman who is 20 years younger than me. Having a child was not planned. I'm grateful for our child, but I'm not in love with her mother. I've tried to explain to her that I love her for the mother she is but that I'm not in love with her.

She found old letters in my closet from an ex that I was in love with ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother died at the age of 67 from COVID-19 in January. My stepfather wanted to wait a year to have the memorial so everyone could attend. Since my mother's death, my stepfather has remarried. Yup, remarried. And now his new wife has moved into the house.

My stepfather is now saying everything in the house is his and is being ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm currently in recovery. I have had two years of being clean and sober, after 13 long, miserable years of addiction. I have a full-time job that I love and am advancing, in my own place, and just live a good, "normal" life. I am quite happy in my current state and have made peace with my past. I've realized it was a tough lesson ...Read more

Dear Annie: In the 12 years since my first child was born (and two more children followed), our military family has yet to actually celebrate Christmas in our own home because we are always traveling to our families' homes, lest we hear from hurt grandparents bemoaning our absence.

Thus, every December, we have to balance the competing ...Read more