ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My son was married eight months ago and now lives on the other side of the country. During their courtship, engagement and wedding, I did everything I could to be friends with his wife. I bought her a rehearsal dinner dress, which she approved of at first. I helped her dress for the dinner. I invited her to go shopping. I called. I...Read more

Dear Annie: When I lost our son to suicide in 2012, there were no words to take away the pain. I understood that clumsy attempts to console were well-intended and appreciated the intent.

However, there was one card that meant so much that I still keep where I can see it. It says, "Everything that love could do was done."

I would like to help...Read more

Dear Annie: My neighbor has a huge tree growing squarely in the middle of her yard. The tree is so big that a limb crashed down and broke part of a fence I share with another neighbor. I was left with the repair and the cleanup. When I mentioned this situation and my safety concern to the neighbor with the tree, she responded, "Whatever falls ...Read more

Dear Annie: I guess my question is more just about the state of my life. I went to great schools, played college sports, got married to a wonderful woman, and we have four terrific children. We live in a nice house.

Yet despite all these outward appearances of success, I don't feel satisfied. It is as if I work and work, get the house and ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 62-year-old woman. Twelve months ago, at my check up, my doctor recommended that I eliminate animal products from my diet due to high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

It seemed like an insurmountable task, but my will to be healthy as I age is bigger than that!

Now a year has passed without any meat, dairy, cheese, fish...Read more

Dear Annie: Every day, I see kids in the front passenger seat with their feet on the dashboard.

This is incredibly dangerous. In a low-impact crash that does not signal air bag deployment, this body position has moved the seat belt, assuming it's being used, off the waist and onto the abdomen, and near the throat. Worse, though, is the knees ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been divorced for a long time. My ex-husband, "Joe," is living with "Sue." She is the one who broke us up. I don't care about that part anymore; she can have him.

I'm upset because my granddaughter got married recently, and they gave Sue a corsage, too. When I saw them give it to her, I said to myself, "What the heck?" My ...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend broke up with me pretty suddenly and over the phone right after spring semester ended. We haven't talked over the summer, and now that school started this fall, it's been pretty awkward. I still have feelings for him and a lot of questions. Since we haven't talked to each other for about four months, I don't know how ...Read more

Dear Annie: We received a shocking message on our answering machine a few days ago. A woman called and identified herself as a possible daughter from an affair 35 years ago. Later, a woman left a message saying she was the mother. I have not been in contact with this woman for 31 years!

Later, I told my wife of 30 years, to whom I have been ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 28 years old, and recently celebrated my second wedding anniversary. I have been with my husband, Tom, for a total of five years, but due to immigration trials and tribulations, we have only been living together full time for two-and-a-half years (first in the United States and now in the United Kingdom).

My issue is my ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband loves to talk. He's known for it. Friends who drive past our house and see him outside usually stop to talk to him, often for an hour at a time. He's one of those people who's "never met a stranger." Many times, I have seen him have long conversations with people he's just met at the farm store -- or just about anywhere....Read more

Dear Annie: When I see someone with all four knuckles on top of a fork, I thank my lucky stars for my mother and the many, many lessons she taught me in my 19 years with her. So, Annie, what is the proper way to grasp a fork? -- Thankful in the Bluegrass

Dear Thankful in the Bluegrass: I think you already have a pretty good grasp of the ...Read more

Dear Annie: For a long time now, my wife has had a habit of making our server choose what side dishes she is going to have. If there is a choice of wedding soup or creamy chicken and potato or broccoli or peas, my wife will often say to the server, "Surprise me." I think this puts pressure on the server. What if my wife does not like the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm the mother of six children, three girls and three boys. I've discovered something that is hurtful to me. At my daughters' homes, they have lots of photos of me and their dad and me alone or with them. But at my sons' homes, there are no photos of me or even me with one of them. One son has a group photo with me in it. They have...Read more

Dear Annie: I have an abusive mother, and for many years I put myself in her path. Any time I opened up to someone about her behavior, I heard, "But she's your mum," or "She means well," or "You only have one mother," much like the letter writer "Chosen Family."

All that did was to cement my mother's accusation of my nastiness.

I do know why...Read more

Dear Annie: I would like to tell "Distressed About Departing Dependent" to think about how she can best parent her adult child before caving and giving her money. At age 19, I married a man who spent any money we had and more. My parents didn't want to support his spending habits so they cut off any funds to me while they continued to bailout ...Read more

Dear Annie: I know that I was raised in the Stone Age. But some of the things I remember sure would be nice additions to today's society. They're called manners. I recall my mother saying, "Mind your manners." Whenever she said that, I knew right then that what I was doing was unacceptable.

Manners were not anything written down. They ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son is in his mid-40s, and his wife is in her early 40s. Every year, my wife and I send them a generous check on their birthdays, anniversary and Christmas. They both are successfully employed, so this is not a financial issue. On our birthdays, anniversary and Christmas, we are lucky if we get a greeting card acknowledging the ...Read more

Dear Annie: There is a friend that I met through a place that I used to work, and we stayed friends after we no longer worked together. We would text every few days. I've been to her house for holidays; I've met her husband, son and daughter. They're a nice family. She lives in a beautiful house.

I am not married; I have no kids and no family...Read more

Dear Annie: My mom is in her 80s and in so-so health. She's at home for now with a full-time caregiver. There are three siblings who all take turns with her. The problem is that we've started to disagree. Even though the decision-makers are legally in writing, the oldest constantly battles us for what she wants to happen in any given situation...Read more