Life Advice
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Shut-Out Grandma
Dear Annie: I am 67 and divorced. I raised two daughters and a son essentially on my own while I worked full time as a registered nurse and provided a decent, middle-class home for my children.
The youngest had issues about almost anything. I got her therapy, along with family therapy. She loved her father but barely tolerated me. Babysitters...Read more

Ask Amy: Wedding drama leads to devastation
Dear Amy: My husband's niece is getting married. I'm so happy for her.
There has been much talk about the wedding. We already received the save-the-date.
Several wedding-related conversations have been held in front of my 12-year-old daughter.
In front of the family, I told my daughter that we could get her a beautiful dress to wear to the ...Read more
Grandparents Prepare Final Gift For Thankless Grandkids
DEAR ABBY: For years, we have given generous gifts to our six out-of-town grandchildren and received almost no thanks or acknowledgment. It hurts my feelings because I devote a lot of thought, in addition to money, to choosing something special for each of them.
Obviously, they don't care, but when we have just sent checks, not knowing what ...Read more
Reader On A Quest To Find New Role Models
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been looking for inspiration because I feel a bit lost right now. I realize that my role models from before have not been good examples for me, and I ended up modeling behavior that was not beneficial. I have been looking for new sources of inspiration on social media and in newspapers, but those have been unsuccessful and...Read more
Unbelievably Rude Questions, Part 432
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My children were born six years apart. I had a miscarriage in between their births, which is no one's business.
At a new job, when asked about my family, a co-worker I barely knew asked me if the children "have the same father" -- apparently due to the six-year gap. Yes, they do have the same father, but it is none of her ...Read more
A Friendship Lost Is Also an Opportunity
Dear Annie: While I have thought of writing to you many times, I have never done so until now. "Old Soul's" story touched me very much -- the one about being completely cut off from a friend. A few years ago, I had a very dear friend who shared everything. Then, out of the blue, she stopped having anything to do with me. I felt abandoned and ...Read more

Ask Amy: Reconnected couple deals with silent stages
Dear Amy: Eight months ago, I ran into an old flame.
We had a three-year relationship that ended 10 years ago.
We did not stay in touch after our breakup, and we both moved on with other people for longer relationships.
We each broke up with our partners in 2022, and reconnected afterward.
We have been seeing each other regularly and ...Read more
Recording May Be Worth More Than A 1,000 Words
DEAR ABBY: I have some advice for your readers who write regarding problems with how others behave badly or are verbally abusive or inappropriate toward them. Hopefully, it will help someone.
I suggest recording video of the offending individual while it's happening, and then showing them the video later when they are calm/sober/receptive. If ...Read more
Woman Causes Friction In Friend Group
DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently got into a big argument in my friend group that resulted in another friend and I isolating ourselves from one person, "Ruby." Ruby lied to the rest of the group, claiming that my friend "Mary" and I abandoned her one night, when we dropped her off at her apartment after she repeatedly asked to go home. Mary and I were ...Read more
Spider-Man Will See You For Your Colonoscopy Now
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I got a colonoscopy on Halloween. Most of the staff were in full costume, including the doctors. Think skintight red dresses with Superman capes, Spider-Man bodysuits, etc.
I'm totally OK seeing adults dressed in costume at their kids' Halloween parties, but at a surgery center? It seems off-putting for everyone to don a ...Read more
Forgotten Gift Hurts Grandma's Feelings
Dear Annie: I'm a 23-year-old woman living with my parents because the cost of housing is so high. This is creating problems, especially in my relationship with my father. He has been disrespectful to me for a long time, at least since I was 18. He makes disparaging comments about my weight, my friends and my life choices.
This in turn has ...Read more

Ask Amy: Abuse survivor tries to confront the past
Dear Amy: When I was a child, my mother was abusive. She’d threaten to send me away (I’m adopted, and therefore I believed her); she’d slap me across the face or hit me with a wooden spoon in a rage, and she constantly gave me the silent treatment – without explanation – sometimes for days.
I don’t think my younger brother (who ...Read more
Health Diagnosis Fills Wife's Head With Doubts
DEAR ABBY: I have recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness. I am only 40, and I always took for granted that I had plenty of life left to live. I'm happily married, but I worry because my husband, "Al," has become my caretaker. I feel terrible about it.
My condition is very limiting. I'm in pain all the time and may have to stop working ...Read more
Millennial Life: Boo to the Car-Centric Life that Dulls Our Communities
The threatening cold front was coming two days later, but that Saturday morning, it was absolutely beautiful. We decided to walk to the nearby hospital to get a flu shot.
There's an initiative every year that my family and I enjoy, and it has almost now become a tradition. Local hospitals team up to offer free flu vaccines in October, a program...Read more
A Less-Than-Beautiful Bouquet
Dear Annie: I wonder if you and your readers can give me some advice. I was ill recently and received a lovely floral gift from a business associate. One type of flower included was on its last legs, while the rest were fresh. The florist also stuffed fern into the water, which created a pretty look but made the water murky and the display ...Read more

Ask Amy: Alcoholic struggles to recover from estrangement
Dear Amy: Four years ago, my daughter and son-in-law cut off all contact with me.
I am a recovering alcoholic, but I relapsed and moved in with my sister.
She and I got into a fight, so I moved out, but I didn't have anywhere to go so I asked my daughter if I could stay with her and her husband until I found a place.
They let me stay with ...Read more
Feeling Down Over Dishonest Boyfriend
Dear Annie: About eight months ago, I met "Len" through a dating app. I'm 71, and he's 81. We clicked right away and started a beautiful relationship. He calls me twice a day and comes to visit me once a week. We go out for dinner and take some road trips once in a while. He never invites me to the house where he lives; he told me that it ...Read more

Ask Amy: Mother-in-law’s clothing choices rankle
Dear Amy: I'll get straight to the point. My mother-in-law dresses in clothes that are too tight or too short.
The clothes aren't revealing, necessarily, but they don't flatter her figure at all. They make her look like she has absolutely no sense of style. I feel bad for her.
I know that she thinks she looks good in these clothes, but I also ...Read more
Second Showers
Dear Annie: I love my job. I love the people with whom I work; yet recently, a member of my office decided on their own that they wanted to purchase an office support pet, despite not needing any additional support in an already sound and safe office environment.
This individual, with their own money, went out and bought a hamster. This ...Read more

Ask Amy: Nonbinary adult faces misgendering at work
Dear Amy: I'm a young professional in my second year at an office job that I love. I'm also nonbinary – neither a man nor a woman – and my pronouns are the gender-neutral "they/them."
My workplace is very accepting, and my pronouns are displayed on our agency's website and on a nameplate at my desk.
Most of my coworkers are mindful of how...Read more
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