ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I was married to my spouse for 34 years, and throughout our marriage, he was abusive. I separated from him two and a half years ago, and we are now divorced. Six months after the separation, he called to apologize for not being a good husband. I asked if he wanted to reconcile, but he had already started seeing someone else just ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I helped a friend by giving her rides to and from work for two weeks while her car was being repaired. When she got her car back, she told me to let her know if she could ever repay the favor by helping me.

Recently, my car needed repairs, so I asked if I could cash in the favor for a ride to and from work for a few days. She replied...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my son is about to leave for his mission to Argentina for the next two years. While I am proud of him and his decision to serve, the thought of him being so far away for so long is really hard for me. We've always been close, and I've watched him grow into such...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My brother died of a sudden heart attack while having dinner with friends. One of his friends called me and I headed straight to the hospital, but it was too late.

Someone at the hospital gave me a bag of my brother's belongings, which I took home and stuck in a closet while I dealt with calling family and friends, consoling ...Read more

Dear Annie: I met this guy who seems to be my soulmate. He lives in America, and I'm in South Africa. However, he refuses to meet me and says it's because he is a celebrity.

He is manipulative and constantly makes me cry. He wants me to send him money before we meet, but because I can't -- I just don't have the funds he's asked for -- he has ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been taking care of my father-in-law for four years -- getting his groceries, going to the bank, picking up prescriptions and doing different tasks. He's disabled and lives in an upstairs apartment with no access to getting downstairs. He can't walk, bathe himself or get in and out of bed by himself. He has hired...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My friend keeps telling others about my private business, and it's starting to feel like a real betrayal. I recently started seeing someone new, and because my friend and I are very close, I shared the news with her. I was excited to tell her, and I trusted her to keep it between us. But almost immediately, I started hearing from...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Person A lost his wife after nearly 65 years of marriage. On what would have been their wedding anniversary a few weeks later, Person B texted Person A to say, "I'm thinking of you on your anniversary."

Person A wrote back and said, "Thank you -- it was a hard day, and I appreciate you thinking of me." Person B texted back, "...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a high school senior worried about my future. I still haven't found a major I really want to do, and I'm running out of time. Animation/art is my passion, but I don't want to get my degree in it. I haven't found anything else I'm interested in pursuing. I want to make money without selling my soul to do something I'd hate. How ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My daughter, "Virginia," age 27, lives with her boyfriend, "Ray," on the East Coast and teaches kindergarten. Last month, she confided that she had caught him cheating. She saw texts on his phone. When she confronted him, Ray immediately confessed and was very apologetic, but he also kept the woman's number in his phone.

Ray will ...Read more

DEAR READERS: I got resounding comments from many of you calling me out for my response to the woman whose husband was pushing her to try to have a son after she had already given birth to five daughters. I accept your input and want to share some of it now.

DEAR HARRIETTE: The surest way to add a boy to your family is to adopt a boy! There are...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My friend and I both have baby girls: Hers is about 6 months old, and mine is 3 months. She has given me a whole bunch of her little girl's clothes -- such a high volume of items that some still had the tags on.

My friend began offering me these clothes before I'd even had my baby; I initially refused, multiple times, because...Read more

Dear Annie: I lost my husband 10 years ago. He was a great man, and we had a good marriage for over 30 years. It took me a while (seven years) to date, and when I did, I met a guy who was seven years older than me and twice divorced, but I was very attracted to him, and he was to me. We spent six months together, and then I left for the winter...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have three grown children, all of whom still live at home. I had always thought that once they graduated from college and got good jobs, they should start paying rent. Because my husband had to pay rent when he still lived at home, he said he would never do that to his kids.

Our oldest, "Samantha," is now 31. She has...Read more

Parenting is a privilege. Being the main influence in the lives of your children is an honor and a blessing. And at times, a royal pain in the neck!

But single parenting has to be -- hands down -- the most complex, demanding situation in all of the single world. It's exhausting, complicated, seemingly never-ending, emotionally draining -- and ...Read more