ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I'm a 58-year-old grandmother to two grandchildren: a 7-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. I've been their primary caregiver (besides their parents) since they were born. I still play a significant role in their lives, visiting often on weekends and staying for a couple of nights at a time since I live an hour away.

Here's where...Read more

Dear Annie: I am writing because I am not sure if I am being "prudish" or "straitlaced."

I will give you a little background. I am 63 years old; my husband is almost 70. We have been married 12 years, together 14. His first wife passed away, and I am divorced (I had been divorced for 19 years when I met him). He absolutely swept me off my ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am so jealous of my mother; it is ruining my life. It is all I obsess about. Three years ago, she met a younger man at a supermarket where she worked. He was 40 then, and she was 52. Three years later and they are happily married and she has become the most spoiled woman I know. She was always slim and beautiful but now dresses ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for over 40 years. He is 75, and I'm 70. I'd always felt secure in my husband's love and devotion and had not had an issue with trust until a younger, single woman in her 50s moved near us about four years ago. He told me he had stopped by to introduce himself, that she's really nice and that he ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently started planning a joint destination birthday celebration with a dear friend. There are a few other women invited to join us in celebrating a milestone birthday. We are very much looking forward to it and have been talking about it for a few years.

I booked the accommodation after all women agreed they could attend. The...Read more

Dear Annie: I run a small bed and breakfast in a very small, rural, up-and-coming town. We have recently had a number of guests who are in their 90s who have had health issues or injuries while staying with us. This has me very much on edge.

Many of these folks have grown up in this town and want to come back to visit family or see the many ...Read more

Dear Annie: As someone from the millennial generation, I struggled a lot with unemployment. In fact, sometimes it seemed like my college degree kept me from even the most basic job opportunities. So, I was really happy when someone gave me a chance.

Data entry was not my dream job, but it's easy enough and it pays the bills. I work in a large...Read more

Dear Annie: Our son married into a large family. His wife's sister was recently married. We did not receive an invitation, and no explanation was given. We were disappointed not to be included. However, it wasn't until we saw post-wedding pictures of our 2-year-old granddaughter -- who served as the flower girl -- that we realized that we are ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been dating this woman on and off for the past six years. In all this time, she has never officially introduced me to her family or friends. We've never spent a holiday together, and she has never invited me to her home. Not even once! She says it's because of past relationship trauma, so I haven't pushed the issue.

She's met...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 72-year-old retired psychologist who suffered from embarrassing sweat attacks for many years -- in fact, since adolescence. It is only recently that I have found a reason for these episodes where I would get totally drenched. In my case, it appears to be due to the "fight or flight" adrenaline rush caused by a subconsciously...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm in a tough spot. A close friend of mine, who I've been urging for years to save for a rainy day, is now facing a very real storm. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing treatment. Knowing her financial situation -- living paycheck to paycheck despite her and her husband's high-paying jobs -- I felt compelled to ...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister is eight years younger than I am. She was homeless, so my older sister took her and her grown son to live with them. "Laura" works at a plant-related business and makes minimum wage. Her grown son is an alcoholic and does not work anywhere. He forces Laura to buy him cigarettes and alcohol. When he is not drinking, he is ...Read more

Dear Annie: I joined a dating site and receive so many responses that it overwhelms me. The problem is that I'm an older woman who looks completely different from the picture I sent. Let me explain: I put on my makeup and hairpiece (I have thinning hair due to a thyroid gland).

When all this is done, I look like a totally different person. It...Read more

Dear Annie: In a couple of weeks, I will attend my dad's wedding. He is 77 years old and this is his fourth wedding. That isn't the biggest issue, though. My sister and I (both in our 50s) were surprised to find out about five months ago that his fiancee is none other than the woman he had an affair with 30 years ago, while married to our mom....Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 21 years. Our sex life has been very active, but other than that, he's never shown me public affection.

Whenever we go out, whether it's to the store, kids' concerts, open house at school, or sports tournaments, he never walks with me. In fact, he usually walks far in front of me and never ...Read more

Dear Readers: Did you ever offer advice that you regretted because you were focused on one issue but failed to see the big picture? I did that recently, and my mistake was a doozy. A reader wrote to me telling how she had escaped an abusive marriage and found a new partner and had been happily married for many years. I chose to congratulate ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a recently divorced mom with three adult children. My husband was physically and emotionally abusive throughout our marriage. He originally left me and my three young children when they were just toddlers, but we eventually reconciled. However, when the kids were in college, he sent me divorce papers. I begged him to reconsider...Read more

Dear Annie: I am part of a family that also has a woman renting a room in our house. I have always been extremely sensitive to smells and scents, but this woman's odors send me gagging out of the room. My son is also sensitive to the smell.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, the smells are becoming stronger. While she is OK with my ...Read more

Dear Annie: My son and I had a falling out a few years ago, right about the time he got engaged and was planning his wedding. I was blamed for not treating his fiancee nicely because I was once impatient at a dress shop. I bent over backward to be nice to her. The straw that broke the camel's back was at Easter, when I finally said something ...Read more

Dear Annie: My friend and I are part of a very small percentage of upcoming high schoolers who are without Snapchat. Socially, this can be very difficult, as it is hard to communicate with friends and even girls because everything is run through Snapchat nowadays. In this post-Covid world, and after the tech boom, everything is run through ...Read more