ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My sister-in-law has turned every family gathering into a courtroom, and somehow I am always the defendant.

For years, I have hosted holidays, birthdays and Sunday dinners because I genuinely love having family together. I cook, clean, set the table and try to make everyone feel welcome. But my sister-in-law has a habit of ...Read more

Dear Annie: My granddaughter allows her son to order mocktails -- drinks that sound like the adult version but don't have liquor in them. Even though they are virgin drinks, I'm afraid this will lead him to drinking real alcohol at a young age.

What do you think? -- Concerned About the Message

Dear Concerned: Your worry comes from a loving ...Read more

Dear Annie: My stepson of 15 years, "Toby," is getting married. I've always had a great relationship with him and his bride-to-be, and I've treated her like she was already family.

Here's my dilemma: Toby got angry with me because my sister, who worked at his and my husband's company, decided to quit and move on. He blamed the whole ordeal on...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I both work from home and each have our own offices. The problem is our walls are thin and his voice is LOUD. It travels through walls and doors and can even be heard by colleagues I'm speaking with when we both have meetings at the same time. It honestly sounds like he's screaming in there.

I've resorted to noise ...Read more

You sigh for it -- and sometimes your sighing deepens into outright yearning. You dream of discovering lover and best friend in one wonderful one. Your yearning is hidden from the daylight in a zillion ways, but in the dark of night, masks slip and your yearning for "the real thing" becomes your bedmate.

Listen up. Did it ever occur to you that...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister and I grew up sharing everything: clothes, secrets, bedrooms, even blame when one of us broke something in the house. For most of my life, she was my first phone call and my safest place to land.

But in the last few years, something has changed. Every conversation with her has started to feel like a contest I never ...Read more

Dear Annie: My 15-year-old daughter and I used to be extremely close. She was the kind of child who would climb into the car after school and tell me everything before I even pulled out of the parking lot: who sat with whom at lunch, what her teacher said, which friend was mad at which friend and what song everyone was listening to that week. ...Read more

Dear Readers: Memorial Day arrives each year wrapped in red, white and blue, but at its heart, it is a day of quiet gratitude.

It is the unofficial beginning of summer, yes. There will be hamburgers on grills, children running barefoot through backyards, flags waving from porches and maybe a little potato salad that sat out longer than anyone...Read more

My mind wanders, and sometimes I just follow behind it, seeing where it goes.

Driving to the gym recently, I debated bringing in my water bottle before remembering there was a water fountain inside. I started thinking about the person who designed the fountain itself, about the mechanics of the water arcing upward at exactly the right angle, ...Read more

Somewhere along the way, you may find one man you like better than the others. He may not look like Hugh Jackman, but there will be something about his sense of humor or the way he sees life that hits home. This is the moment the real challenge presents itself: to continue treating a man like your best buddy when you care about him romantically....Read more