DEAR ABBY: My son is engaged to a girl we all love, but recently, there’s been an issue. My husband was at their house while my son’s fiancee was finishing up getting ready for their date night. (They live 10 minutes from us, and my husband has been there often since his retirement.) When she … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My nephew-to-be has just turned 14. He has older parents (his mom was 42 when he was born) and is so socially inept that we fear for his future. His mom is more than a helicopter parent — she still orders his food for him at restaurants. My son is 15 and very … Read more
DEAR ABBY: We are a male couple celebrating 34 years of partnership. We recently took a cruise, during which we met four straight couples traveling together who welcomed us into their group. It was a pleasant experience, and we were delighted to make friends with whom we anticipated sailing again. In fact, the group booked … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My husband, “Guy,” and I enjoyed a happy marriage for 30 years, despite the fact that his mother disliked me and did everything she could to undermine our relationship. Guy died suddenly in his sleep last month while we were vacationing in South Asia. I cut the trip short, but between complying with … Read more
DEAR ABBY: A close male friend, “Will,” ended our friendship without warning. I didn’t know he had such strong feelings about my current arrangement. I have been dating a married man, “Bart,” whose wife suggested he get himself a girlfriend if he wanted sex/intimacy/companionship. She also told him she would “never want to sleep with … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend’s mom has dementia. He asked me and my kids to move in with him and said he would marry me. In exchange, he expected me to quit my job and take care of his mom. I felt it was a disaster waiting to happen, and taking care of someone with dementia … Read more
DEAR ABBY: How can I plan and enjoy holidays at my home with my three adult children? One daughter and her husband always find ways to hold imaginary grudges against our other two daughters. This daughter claims to be always left out, yet she never reaches out to her sisters or even to me and … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I’m married, and in my mid-40s. My wife and I have a robust social life, for which we both feel very lucky and blessed. We have amazing friends who are a wonderful support system and with whom we go out regularly. Lately, our wives have been wanting to go to dance clubs, where … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My sister’s fiance, “Logan,” always seemed very flirtatious with me. I told her she needed to control her future husband. After they were married, the same gestures and innuendos kept happening, and I reminded my sister about it. Logan did and said inappropriate things right in front of her. Once she even commented, … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been seeing “Pete” for eight months. He has been divorced for the last 15 years. He has two grown children and five grandchildren with his ex-wife, “Linda,” who is still a significant person in Pete’s life. They text throughout the day and enjoy doing things with Linda’s husband. Pete is having major … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My son-in-law and I had words five years ago. Two years ago, I wrote him a letter of apology and told him it was always “family first.” My daughter confirmed he received the letter. They recently had their fourth child. We haven’t seen their first since he was 2 or the second since … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I have been around “Kendra” since she was 4. I am 59 and not married to her mother, although we are good friends. Kendra is 36 now and has an 8-year-old son. She lives with her boyfriend, who is the father. They are not married. We have a great relationship. For some reason, … Read more
DEAR ABBY: Eight years ago, my husband of 26 years had a stroke, and his personality changed. He was difficult to deal with, but, with time, his old personality came back, and things got better. Two years ago, he finally kicked a longtime prescription drug habit. Our finances improved almost overnight (for which I am … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I’m struggling to continue my relationship with my dad, who is in his 80s. He recently became very ill and nearly died. He was unable to walk for several months, and when he was finally able to start getting around, it was with a wheelchair and walker. Dad started driving his truck, although … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I am not, and never will be, an attractive female. I accept this, and I’m OK with the fact that men don’t find me attractive. My issue is, my friends want to have hot-single-girl events. They are all very attractive. When they try to introduce a man to me, the man obviously has … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My sister and I grew up with our father after our parents divorced. He was a hoarder. Years later, when he finally had to move out, it took three moving trucks to empty the two-bedroom house. You can imagine what that was like. I am very triggered by clutter. I appreciate an organized … Read more
DEAR ABBY: A friend retired, moved and gave me her well-paying, once-a-week job doing industrial cleaning. It pays a sizable chunk of our bills. My husband, who agreed to work with me doing this, gives me a hard time every week by being late. We need to be there after business hours at 5:30 p.m. … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I have a neighbor I truly love. I garden; she does not. Despite my asking her two years ago not to take any of my asparagus, yesterday she mentioned in conversation, “I love your asparagus. Sometimes I pick some for myself.” Abby, last year I was left with only enough for one meal … Read more
DEAR ABBY: My young adult child came out to us as transgender several months ago. My husband and I, along with her sibling, are supportive and love her unconditionally. She recently decided to share the news with her grandparents, sending a heartfelt email along with a couple of resources specifically for grandparents. One grandparent has … Read more
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been seeing a man, “Barry,” who worked with my younger brother. They had an altercation at work, and Barry was terminated for misconduct. My brother, “Rob,” is upset with me because I still see him. Barry did reach out to Rob to apologize and see if they could move on. While my … Read more