ArcaMax

Dear Amy: I have two granddaughters; 11 and 14. We have a vacation home, and they come to stay for a week or two every summer.

While they were visiting this year, I noticed both girls trying on old clothes and jewelry from a closet. One granddaughter asked me if she could keep a gemstone pendant that she had found. It had belonged to my mother,...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 27 years and have three wonderful kids. The youngest is 16.

I recently found out I may have another son from a relationship prior to my marriage. The woman never notified me or asked for child support. I found out through someone else a couple of months ago and, thanks to social media, was able to find him and...Read more

Dear Annie: Male rape is a subject that is seldom mentioned. A close and dear male friend (in his late 40s) was severely raped twice. He was kidnapped from his residence, drugged, sodomized and left naked on the first occasion, and then his residence was broken into, and he was tied up and raped a second time. The general public may think this...Read more

Dear Readers: Last month, I posed a question to everyone: "If you had to do it all over again, would you have kids?" Thousands of you responded.

Two days ago, we heard from parents who would gladly have children if given a redo. (They constituted 77 percent of responses overall.) Yesterday's column was dedicated to people who don't regret not...Read more

Dear Amy: OK. Long story short: I'm 47, gay and single. I've spent the last eight years living away from my family of origin.

I recently moved back to my home state, although I live about two hours away from my family. My problem is my widowed mother, who's 77. We haven't had the best relationship lately because she refuses to recognize ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 30 years. Although my husband and I are both positive people, we have not had a happy marriage.

He leads the life of a bachelor, including sex with other women and unilateral decision-making. He's outgoing, generous and well-liked. I'm a homebody who often feels lonely and rejected.

Outsiders would be ...Read more

Dear Annie: Recently, I was introduced to an older gentleman. He has never been married, but he did have a son through artificial insemination. His son passed away, and he talks all the time about how special he was.

He has a very strong and commanding personality to the point of sometimes being a bit of a bully. It seems like he is always ...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Hi, Carolyn:

Our 16-year-old son has always been taciturn -- now he barely speaks to me. Our interactions have degenerated into me nagging him about his grades, chores and activities. He doesn't appear to be depressed -- I've asked, probably not the best approach -- and he just laughs. He is the only...Read more

Dear Readers: In a column last month, I posed a question: "If you had to do it all over again, would you have kids?"

In yesterday's column, we heard from parents who said yes -- the largest group, at 77 percent of the responses. Today I'd like to share some responses from people belonging to the second-most common group (12 percent of ...Read more

Dear Amy: A few months into freshman year of college (not too long ago), an acquaintance of mine accused a popular athlete on campus of date rape and notified the college and police.

I went to a fairly small school, so rumors spread quickly and before long, most students heard some variation of the story.

I can't remember the details of what ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My best friend of 40 years and her boyfriend live several states away from my husband and me. Every winter she and her friend expect to come to our home for a week. We simply can no longer do this.

Her friend is a nice guy, but after a few days we can hardly stand it. He talks constantly and knows everything about everything. How can...Read more

Dear Annie: When our daughter was a child, she had emotional issues and extensive anger management problems. With tremendous concern and love, we got her professional support and therapy, and ultimately, our daughter learned the skills to control herself. What we did not do was tell extended family members of these private problems. We had ...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

"Ken" and I have been married five years, together nine. Ken is an amazing person; he's upbeat, handsome, charming, and thoughtful, but can't seem to stick to a job. He has a master's in a high-paying technical field that cost his parents a fortune, but he hated it so much he lasted ...Read more

Dear Readers: Several weeks ago, someone requested that I pose a question to my readers that Ann Landers asked in 1975: "If you had to do it all over again, would you have kids?" I received an overwhelming response to this unscientific poll.

The largest group of respondents (77 percent) consisted of parents who would gladly have children if ...Read more

Dear Amy: My son is getting married in a few weeks. We are Jewish (although not religious), and my son is marrying a lovely Christian girl (also not that religious).

They are having a Jewish ceremony with a reformed rabbi as their clergy.

We parents are very happy and proud.

My nephew on my husband's side (his brother oldest son), RSVP'd to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a man in my mid-30s. For the past couple of years I've been in love with my best friend. She doesn't know how I feel, and I know she doesn't feel the same way about me. (She calls me the brother she always wanted.) I try hard to fight these feelings so our friendship can continue. She has been a huge part of my life, so losing her...Read more

Dear Annie: Six years ago, I tried to take my own life. I was a popular high school student, excelled at sports and had a girlfriend and a supportive family who were always there for me. People thought I had it all. What they didn't realize was that I was struggling with debilitating depression.

One night, when things seemed hopeless and I ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am currently in my second (and final!) marriage. I was previously married for 15 years. My current wife and former wife are not active friends but have met many times and get along very well. My current wife is inquisitive and tends to get information that she wants from people. She has let me know that my ex-wife told her a ...Read more