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Single File: Sexual Bill of Rights

Life Advice / Single File /

Sexual/sensual expression is important to mental and physical well-being. Let's agree on that. And being unmarried, you also know how important it is for your satisfaction to feel a partner's caring. The truth is sexual union has the potential to be spiritual communion when it joins soul mates. But it takes a bit of doing for the unmarried to ...Read more

Mykyta Starychenko/Dreamstime/TNS

Redefining your 'type': Expanding your dating parameters can change everything

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

For years, I’ve worked with clients who come to me saying the same thing: “I just can’t find the right person.” When I dig a little deeper, a common theme appears — they’re clinging to a very specific idea of who their “type” is. (It often starts with a physical attribute, but it goes beyond that, too.)

And here’s the kicker:...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Ask Anna: Making Valentine's Day work when one partner hates the holiday

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

My partner of three years absolutely despises Valentine's Day. He calls it a "commercialized scam" and refuses to participate in any way. I understand his perspective — yes, it's commercialized. All holidays are! And yes, we should show love year-round. But here's the thing: I genuinely enjoy having this day dedicated to ...Read more

Asking Eric: Successful professional fears she’ll never find love

Life Advice / Asking Eric /

Dear Eric: I am a late-20-something. When I told my mom I wanted to go to law school, one of the first things she said to me was that I would most likely never find a life partner. Of note, I am the only woman in my family in my generation with a college degree. I am also the first attorney in my family.

I am now three years into my career. I ...Read more

Empty Nester Feels Overwhelmed By Life Changes

Life Advice / Sense & Sensitivity /

DEAR HARRIETTE: The past year has been full of change for me ... way too much change. Early last year, I lost my job. It was a job I had nurtured for the past 25 years, a place I'd been attached to since I graduated college, a job that saw me get married and have two children. That was a hard loss.

Not long after, my youngest child graduated ...Read more

'next Time, Please Give Up Your Seat To Someone Richer'

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife's best friend from high school, "Nelly," has become a very successful businesswoman. Each year, she will invite us to the fall fundraiser for the local performing arts society, which raises funds for local theater groups. She will buy a table of eight for this event and invite us to join her.

The event has both silent...Read more

Letting Go of an Emotionally Draining Friendship

Life Advice / Dear Annie /

Dear Annie: Where do I even start? My senior friend has been draining me emotionally for the past 15 years. We were neighbors and acquaintances, but we never went anywhere or did anything together. Our friendship was limited to exchanging small gifts or cards for events like birthdays, and that was fine -- until one fall day when she completely ...Read more

Friendship Crumbles When Truth Emerges About Visitor

Life Advice / Dear Abby /

DEAR ABBY: My friend of eight years has her 55-year-old son living with her. She has been driving a man around who she told me is a friend of her son's and she knows his family. What she never mentioned is that he's a registered violent sex offender who was just released from prison.

She knows how I feel about this issue. Sex offenders are not ...Read more

Asking Eric: Woman caught in the middle of friend’s divorce

Life Advice / Asking Eric /

Dear Eric: I have a 30-year-old friendship from high school. I am a woman, and my friend is a man. He got married to a smart, driven, friendly partner. She meshes well with our core group. They have been married for 13 years and have a 5-year-old.

The wife recently called me to tell me she wants a divorce and has proof of him hanging out with ...Read more

Single Father Sets Boundaries With Girlfriend

Life Advice / Sense & Sensitivity /

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am in a relationship with a man who is a single parent of two children. It seems as though his ex left their family not too long after their second child was born -- perhaps postpartum. My partner and I have a great relationship, and I love his girls. They are sweet and funny, and I'm always happy to help and support them. ...Read more

Nobody Is Honest All The Time

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a strong moral requirement not to lie, which has led me to reflect on the role of full truthfulness in good manners. I often observe people giving false reasons or intentionally omitting pertinent details to politely avoid something.

While I understand the intent is usually to spare someone's feelings or avoid ...Read more

Finding Holiday Harmony in a Blended Family

Life Advice / Dear Annie /

Dear Annie: I've learned something surprising over the years as a step-parent: Holidays don't have to be confined to specific dates. In our family, Christmas Eve is just as special as Christmas Day, and we've even repeated Thanksgiving on the Friday after, with leftovers and a fresh pie. We've also started alternating years for who gets which ...Read more

Sister Ready To Confront Late Brother's Abusive Wife

Life Advice / Dear Abby /

DEAR ABBY: My brother died of cancer a year ago. During his entire 50-year marriage, I felt bad about the way his wife treated him. She snapped at him and bit his head off from the time they were first married until his death, even while he was dying. Never once did I hear him speak harshly in return.

I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want ...Read more

Never married and never happier? How attitudes about marriage are changing among singles in America.

Life Advice / Single File /

More Americans are getting married later in life—if at all.

That's according to a 2023 report by the Pew Research Center, which analyzed Census Bureau data to reveal that a record-high share of Americans over 40 have never been married. One in 4 40-year-olds had never tied the knot as of 2021, up from 1 in 5 in 2010.

Forty-year-olds ...Read more

Patrick Hruby/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Evacuated? Hosting someone who is? Try these 9 tips for harmonious communal living

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

LOS ANGELES -- Togetherness can be a mixed blessing.

As the Palisades fire raged, every member of the Cullen family — deeply rooted in Pacific Palisades since the 1960s — found themselves displaced. 10 family members from multiple households there were forced to flee the homes they owned as the inferno swallowed up their neighborhoods.

Six...Read more

Asking Eric: Couple can’t get away from friends’ antisocial daughter

Life Advice / Asking Eric /

Dear Eric: My husband and I have a close relationship with another couple. Their daughter, two years out of college and gainfully employed, lives with them. When we are invited to have dinner or drinks at this couple’s house, the daughter often joins.

We are not generally informed ahead of time that she will join; instead, the couple says ...Read more

Lonely Reader Wants To Meet Online Friend In Real Life

Life Advice / Sense & Sensitivity /

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been in touch with someone I have been meeting online for the past two years. We both have the same physical condition, but he's more outgoing and has a full social life, whereas I am the opposite. I have started attending events at the organization where he works to get support for my needs, but we have never introduced ...Read more

Fancy Wedding 'extras' Are Choices, Not Requirements

Life Advice / Miss Manners /

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have taken note of repeat inquiries about how to deal with not being invited to a wedding -- presumably, though not always in so many words, without being a jerk in return.

I would like to point out that weddings have gotten exceedingly expensive and that couples simply cannot afford to invite everyone to the reception. In ...Read more

Torn Between Pain and Healing

Life Advice / Dear Annie /

Dear Annie: My relationship with my mother has been deeply strained since my grandmother's death five years ago. My mother and I were her primary caregivers, and I loved my grandmother dearly. After she passed, I endured severe verbal and emotional abuse from my mother's brother, who has a history of anger issues and domestic violence. Despite...Read more

Man Can't Stop Thinking About His First Romantic Partner

Life Advice / Dear Abby /

DEAR ABBY: I have been thinking a lot lately about my first love. The thoughts come and go, which I know is normal. A week or so ago, I stumbled upon her LinkedIn account, saw her profile picture and couldn't help but reminisce about all the good times we had together 15 years ago. I'm 35 now and have been in a relationship for seven years. She ...Read more