ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My wife's nephew got married about four years ago. It was a destination wedding at a beautiful tropical location. My wife is very close to her sister, so there was no question that we would attend. No expense was spared. We added a week to our family vacation. All of our children traveled with us, and we are a larger than average ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have horrible body odor and halitosis due to a rare medical condition called trimethylaminuria. It makes me emit several odors -- mostly rotting food, ammonia and fish. However, there is no medical cure, and I struggle with the condition daily. Lately, with age, I have developed "old people odor" associated with nonenal.

Around ...Read more

Dear Annie: My parents live in a tiny Midwestern town with one restaurant. It's a mom and pop place with really delicious food, and many of the locals are regulars, including my parents. The owner, "Martina," is extremely sweet and accommodating and does most of the work including the cooking. Her husband, on the other hand, does very little ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 64-year-old woman. Trying to date seems more difficult as I get older. Seems like most men only want one thing or younger women. I have tried online dating sites with not much luck. I live in a small town, and there aren't many single men. Do you have any suggestions on where to meet a good man? -- L.C.

Dear L.C.: To the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've had my current job for four years. I work at a small company of about 20 employees. My co-worker, "Beth," has been here about a year longer than me. She joined my department about six months ago. One thing I appreciate about my department is our work-life balance. We care about our work, but we also care about having time for ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have never written to a columnist in my 70 years, but "Sad and Somewhat Angry Granny," whose daughter-in-law wouldn't allow her kids to open any of the Christmas gifts Granny brought them overseas before Christmas Day, really struck a chord with me.

What a wonderful opportunity her daughter-in-law missed to model flexibility, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been seeing this guy for about eight months now and don't know how to explain what the situation is. He always comes to my house, and we watch TV and do a lot of talking. I feel like I have known him my whole life and am so comfortable with him.

My problem is that we never go out or do anything together. I have asked him if...Read more

Dear Annie: I am in my mid-20s and spend at least two hours a day in the car driving to and from work. I live in Northern Virginia and work in Washington, D.C., and rush-hour traffic here is a nightmare.

I was getting so stressed. The situation got so bad that I told my boyfriend that I had to either quit my job or move into an apartment in ...Read more

Dear Annie: Our 48-year-old daughter decided four years ago to legally change her name and deny us as family. I am her stepmother, but she has been my daughter since she was 10 years old. My husband and I are in our late 60s and 70s, respectively.

Our daughter has had a history of obtaining wonderful jobs but then having a problem with a co-...Read more

Dear Annie: When my brother-in-law is sick, he loves to cough: He says he wants to spread his germs around. Recently, we went out to eat with him, and he coughed into his hands and not into his elbow. He kept coughing throughout the meal. No one wants his sickness. I find it difficult to be around him.

My brother-in-law is also a bully, and I...Read more

Dear Annie: Last year, I lost my dad. He had stage IV cancer, but that's not what killed him. In fact, after his first few months of chemotherapy, a scan showed that the cancer was mostly gone. Then, a few weeks later, he died suddenly in his sleep. We declined to do an autopsy, but from talking to doctors it seems that there's a good chance ...Read more

Dear Annie: Reading your column on grieving, I was reminded of a quote I read regarding a parent's grief upon losing a child. Perhaps this would be helpful.

"A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses their parents is called an orphan. There is no word for a parent who loses...Read more

Dear Annie: This is another letter about an alcoholic woman. I believe the people around her are enabling her drinking. They don't catch on because she has convinced them and herself that her drinking is cool and sophisticated. Drinking liberates her, makes her the life of the party and the center of attention, which she craves. She says she ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am writing in regard to "Concerned Mom," whose daughter suffers from dumping syndrome. I am a retired pediatric nurse, and many years ago I took care of a small child with dumping syndrome. The way he was fed was by continuous gavage (tube feeding). This avoided his stomach from ever being too full. I'm not sure what Concerned ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for a year and a half. We are both divorced. He's in his late 50s, and I'm in my late 60s. His daughter is in her early 20s. When she's with us and there's a conversation, she will talk directly to her father with an occasional glance to me. Even her body language is telling. If we're...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 68; my sister is 66. We live far apart. She prefers talking on the phone. I prefer texting with her.

When we text, it's a back-and-forth conversation. When we talk on the phone, she talks; I listen. She dumps all her stress, problems and anxiety on me for an hour and says the same things over and over. I have tried to not ...Read more

Dear Annie: My brother recently told me that my sister-in-law (his wife) was anxious about an upcoming family lunch we'd both be at because she thought I was mad at her. The reason? I'd responded to one of her texts with "Thanks," followed by a period. She thought because I didn't use an exclamation point or emoji, I was being passive-...Read more

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I have been together for just over a year and a half. While we were first getting to know each other, he made me aware of his depression, which he is currently on medication for (and has been for about a year now). He also goes to therapy.

One major side effect of his medication is that it's killed his libido. I ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm having a difficult time accepting my parents for what I perceive as stinginess. They are retired, upper-middle class (at least), have paid off their nice home and have money to travel. My dad grew up upper-middle class and so did mom.

My problem is that they have never been generous. They didn't pay a cent for college for any ...Read more

Dear Annie: I play in a ladies senior softball league. One of the women who plays in the league has really awful underarm odor. It is difficult to stand anywhere near her without gagging from the smell.

She is a lovely person and a good ball player, but standing inside the dugout with her or even next to her outside the dugout is distracting,...Read more