ArcaMax

Dear Eric: My 93-year-old Dad passed away recently, and my brother and I are planning a memorial service. Our mother died several years ago. Mom and Dad stayed married despite the fact that Dad came out as gay around 2000. He had a very close relationship with a man, “Douglas,” for many years, although they were just friends when Dad died.

...Read more

Dear Eric: After two decades working in the same organization and several years in my actual position, I've been wanting a change. I actually like my job but now in my mid-40s feel like I need to change things up for the second half of my career.

Between my wife's income and some savings, we could get by financially for a while.

I've resigned ...Read more

Dear Eric: Yesterday a cousin sent me a photo of a group of family members taken the morning after my father's funeral about 30 years ago. It included my mother, two sisters, an uncle, my brother-in-law and me. Most of us were still in our nightclothes, as it was taken early in the morning before other relatives left to return home.

With the ...Read more

Dear Eric: My spouse is unable to say "Oops, sorry." He automatically denies having done the thing or blames me or my son – even if he literally just did it in front of me/us.

It's been an issue for decades. We first went to counseling because he left a shower head pointing at a weird angle, so water got all over the wall and floor when I ...Read more

Dear Eric: On Mother's Day I received a voicemail, on my cellphone, from my sister-in-law. It evidently was a butt call that recorded my brother, sister-in-law and two of their friends having a good time drinking and bad-mouthing me.

In the voicemail my sister-in-law told their friends that her husband's sister "was a piece of work", to which ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been messaging someone I met on a dating app for about three weeks, and we finally have our first date this weekend. We’ve had some really fun conversations, and I’m genuinely excited to meet her. The other night she mentioned that she’d been reading a book she loved, but her library hold expired before she could finish ...Read more

About 10 years ago, when I was in the first few years of running my business, I was working out of a co-working space. A great place to get work done … and meet people. I remember very clearly when someone I met at the office asked if I’d like to have dinner. I thought it was a nice gesture, and I know how hard it is to muster up the courage...Read more

Dear Eric: I met my wife about 20 years ago. Her three kids at the time were young to late teens.

The oldest, a daughter, has always been needy and played the victim. Over the years, we have given her a car; driven her to work before she got her license; gave her a living room set when she ran off and got married; drove three states away to ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a 64-year-old woman who allowed my daughter (35) and son-in-law (34) to move in about two years ago. They committed to each other in 2022 but didn’t make a legal partnership. They have an open relationship.

He has pretty much always had a girlfriend. When I asked my daughter where her boyfriend was, she said she could have one...Read more

Dear Eric: I've been having problems with the noise coming from downstairs for more than three years now. I live in a two-family rental. Two much younger women live on the first floor.

One of them is completely rude about how much noise she makes. However, I didn't have a conversation with her about the noise. It took me three years, but I ...Read more