ArcaMax

The last thing my 10-year-old asked me last night was if he'd get his seal shirt in the morning. The first thing my 11-year-old mumbled when I turned on his light and wished him a happy birthday was, "Seal shirt."

His obsession with seals started with his first stuffed animal, a harbor seal that was a cast-off from his sister's collection. ...Read more

Dear Readers: Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. People are encouraged to forgive, reflect and start fresh. And while it is a Jewish holiday, its message is one that just about anyone can appreciate.

The idea is simple: Take a look at the year behind you and ask yourself a few questions. Was I kind enough? Did I make time for the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm an 18-year-old woman who just started my freshman year of college out of state. Everything is going well, and I'm meeting new people with different perspectives.

One thing I'm experiencing is my "I don't know" phase, which is new for me. Especially with relationships, I don't know if I like certain boys because they're ...Read more

Dear Annie: I hesitate to write this because I've never seen anything like this subject in your column. I am a grown woman, mom and grandmother and still have a "blanky." When I come home from work and walk in my bedroom and see the piece of the silk end, I immediately feel relaxed. I know this sounds crazy, but it gives me comfort.

I wouldn'...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are both in our 70s, and he's been pushing for us to sell the house and move into something smaller for over a year now. He's not wrong; it's more house than we need.

But we raised our three kids in this house. Every room has something in it -- the kitchen table my dad built, the height marks on the door frame, ...Read more

Once we fall in love, we tend to think it's the other person -- the beloved -- who is filling in the missing part of our emotional neediness and making us feel complete. Both sexes fall into that abyss and never fully recover. Sadly, we tend to look for a person who will make us feel like a real woman/man, totally fulfilled and whole. Well, ...Read more

Dear Annie: I go to the same nail salon every few weeks, and lately I've noticed something that is driving me crazy. Almost every time I'm there, someone is talking loudly on their cellphone, watching videos without headphones or having a FaceTime conversation while the rest of us are trying to relax.

At my last appointment, the woman next to...Read more

Dear Annie: I am desperate to declutter our house, but my husband has a very hard time letting go of anything. Our closets are overflowing, the garage is packed, and we have boxes of things we haven't opened in years. There are old tools, clothes that no longer fit, broken electronics, stacks of paperwork and even things from hobbies he hasn't...Read more

Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very happy Labor Day. The expectation of this holiday is to take the day off, put our feet up and enjoy the last stretch of summer.

How many of you are actually able to take the time to reset and rest today?

We say we are going to relax, and then we answer a few emails. We clean the kitchen. We run to the ...Read more

Years ago, during the hot months in the desert, I adopted a short house dress style that I change into when I come home from work. I have probably about six that I rotate, but the original is old. It's old enough that a picture of my son and me when he was a baby included that dress. He's about to turn 11. I still wear that dress.

It is not ...Read more