ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our early 60s, married for 40-plus years. We plan to retire and travel soon. But the past year or so he seemed to become obsessed with his smartphone, holding his phone all the time and guarding it. I asked him if he had a Facebook account and he said no. But when I entered his cell number in the Facebook ...Read more

Dear Amy: Almost 30 years ago, less than a month before his death, my father gave me a ring that has been in our family for generations.

Dad was terminally ill and had asked me to take the ring for an appraisal, perhaps to sell.

When I went to his room to get the ring, it wasn't there. He went looking for it (I was with him at the time) and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: In 1985 I met a lovely divorced lady with two adorable children. The three of us got along well. A year later I married into this family. Until then I had no children of my own.

The kids had regular visits with their father. The first Father's Day after I married their mom, we arranged for them to spend the weekend with him. When ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I drove a long distance from our home to help our son and his wife with their move from another state. They have two infant daughters, and we wanted to help in whatever way we could.

The first morning, Dad went with our son to the bank, leaving me at the house with the movers. My daughter-in-law stayed in her ...Read more

Dear Amy: My 15-year-old son plays in a local baseball league.

Recently his team has been short some players so they've asked a younger player, "Benjamin," to "play up." Ben is 11, and a very good player.

I've been sitting with this child's parents during the game.

Every time Ben does something good, he comes over to his parents and they make...Read more

Dear Annie: A few months ago, I signed a lease on a house with my friend "Bob." At first, I was excited that Bob has a cat, "Whiskers." I have always wanted a pet but just can't commit to taking care of one and can't really afford one.

However, for the past month or so, Whiskers has been "thinking outside the litter box." She's urinated on my ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: This is in response to Crying Myself to Sleep (June 2), who is having drastic mood swings, including crying, depression and anger. I experienced these, and it was not only horrible, but also scary.

My doctors figured out my problem was caused by a hormonal imbalance. Since the body makes many different types of hormones, the doctors ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am a 60-year-old woman and just found out that there's a small chance I may have uterine cancer. I'm scheduled for additional tests. I haven't told friends or family because it seems too early to push the panic button. I told my husband, of course, but his response left me hurt and confused. His only reaction was to ask whether ...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

I just spent the weekend in the company of my boyfriend's brother, who mimicked/mocked me, belittled almost all my actions, and made fun of my chronic health condition. My boyfriend says this is just "'George's' sense of humor," and that I should ignore it and not be so sensitive. I ...Read more

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been married for several years. "Cindy" seemed to be "the one" -- someone who completed my life and truly loved me.

However, at one point after we were married, I found out she was receiving inappropriate emails from a co-worker. She said they were just jokes between two "friends." She insisted that she had never ...Read more

Dear Amy: I was a victim of sexual abuse, starting when I was 4 years old. I was first raped when I was 7. As a result, I (to my frustration and shame) became very promiscuous as a young teen and into adulthood. I have allowed myself to be abused physically, emotionally and sexually my entire life.

I have battled drug addiction and shame for, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm the proud mom of a wonderful 21-year-old daughter whom I find myself worrying about more and more lately. She just graduated from our local college and is heading to medical school in another state six hours away.

Rationally, I know she'll be fine and can take care of herself, but I am terrified that something will happen to her ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have been married for 25 years to a husband who provides well for his family. We are now empty nesters. However, my husband feels he has to be a social butterfly with everyone on the golf course or in a bar.

When he drinks, he doesn't know when enough is enough, and it leads to major fighting and stress in our marriage. He feels...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm an attractive, well-educated, mature woman. A year ago, an old boyfriend contacted me. We rekindled our romance and have a long-distance relationship. We have spent several weeks together on three different vacations. He insisted that I visit him. He bought me a plane ticket and made reservations for me to spend six weeks at ...Read more

Dear Amy: I am a single mom to a 14-month-old child. I'm also a college student, currently residing in an apartment attached to my dad's house. I am thankful to be living rent-free, but I'm miserable.

I recently came back from a vacation to New York City and, as always, I loved it! But I get depressed every time I come home. I have dreams of ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: The media give us stories of racial conflict and the shooting of police officers almost daily, and every reporter and news anchor proposes solutions. As a Hispanic police officer in a small city, I have an observation.

I was having lunch the other day with two other officers. Sitting across from us was a young mom whose child was ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently had a conversation with my mother. She mentioned that she and Grandma are not speaking again. She reminisced about how poorly she has been treated by her mother, even as a child.

She then mentioned how her mother donates blood frequently, saying she is a universal donor, meaning O-negative. Annie, if my grandmother is O...Read more

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Dear Carolyn:

I read you as calling ghosting necessary at times, yet other times calling it cowardly. How do I know if I'm just enjoying being the victim -- and the person I'm dealing with is not "wrong" -- or if I am truly being abused, thereby needing strict boundaries?

-- Stumped

I don't ...Read more