Dear Abby: My 63-year-old mother has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. Even prior to her diagnosis she was a negative and depressed person. She has been a smoker, drinker and backseat driver for almost 50 years.
Dear Abby: When my then-boyfriend asked me to marry him, he didn’t have a ring ready, but I happily accepted his proposal. We were in our late 20s and had been dating for almost 10 years. He then took me to the jewelry store so I could select one to my taste and liking (within budget). We to…
Dear Abby: I have a good friend I’ll call Josie. She’s kind, generous and always willing to help. There is only one problem — she lies.
Dear Abby: Since I moved eight years ago, my son, “Jim,” has visited me only once, and that’s because I gave his son my car. I rarely hear from him, and when I have visited, we barely talk. We have totally different ideas on life, and it has caused a rift in our relationship.
Dear Abby: Two years ago, my husband of 50 years confessed that 46 years ago, shortly after our son was born, he had a one-night stand with a total stranger he gave a ride to. She offered sex to him, and they went to a hotel for the brief encounter. He said he had totally forgotten about it …
Dear Abby: With the holidays fast approaching, I’m starting to think about shopping. Honestly, I’m tired of shopping for adults who don’t need anything. Finding gifts for them becomes more daunting each year. I think gift cards and direct money are tacky Christmas presents.
Dear Abby: My boyfriend of five years calls me his “partner.” I care about his family, and they are happy we are together.
Dear Abby: Ten months ago, my aunt’s 66-year-old live-in boyfriend died unexpectedly. She has no children and is left with a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house to take care of by herself. She has always been in debt (I think), and his final expenses only made it worse.
Dear Abby: As we return to work, businesses and expanded health care are opening up after the pandemic shutdown. We all are pretty much required to wear masks anywhere we go these days.
Dear Abby: I have been in a wonderful relationship and blissfully happy for two years. We live together. When “Scott” and I first got together, he told me he had a felony conviction and that a woman had falsely accused him of rape. I laughed it off because I didn’t want to see the truth, but…
Dear Abby: Would you please address again the importance of expressing gratitude via a handwritten note when a generous gift has been given? We grandparents would love it to be acknowledged by our grandchildren. Some of them are better than others at this. My take is that their parents, alth…
Dear Abby: My husband and I own a condo in a building with 22 units. Because of COVID-19, one of the HOA board members has posted signs stating “rules” throughout the building. The rules are typical for these trying times, but the number of signs is obsessive. Many of the residents dislike t…
Dear Abby: We are approaching the time of year when many people struggle with how to divide time between families during the holidays. This is often made harder when there has been divorce and remarriage within a family, especially when children are involved. This was the case in our family.
Dear Abby: My man of three years and I are at a crossroads. He has gone from my boyfriend, to fiancé, back to boyfriend, to friend, to “I don’t know what he is now.” He showers me with gifts and material things, which really don’t mean a lot to me. I thank him often for the things he does, a…
Dear Abby: I retired a year ago from a stressful job because I couldn’t take what it was doing to my health. Despite a divorce after a 35-year marriage 10 years ago, I had recovered financially. I was lucky to have landed a job in my early 30s that had an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, and …
Dear Abby: I thought my son and I were close. Recently, I learned that his girlfriend had a miscarriage. I learned about it from an email his girlfriend sent me, and I have also learned he told another relative he’s close to about the miscarriage. I called his girlfriend after receiving her …
Dear Abby: I am a 39-year-old woman who has been in a relationship for five years and married for two. Abby, I am consumed with regret for marrying this man. He’s loyal and has a good job, but he spends most of our money on food (eating out at work, drinking expensive beers, buying tools, et…
Dear Abby: I am raising my two granddaughters and trying to allow their mother, my daughter, to visit with them. My problem is, the entire time she is with us, she stays on her phone or Snapchat. Last weekend, I drove to the place where she resides, and the whole time we were there she ignor…
Dear Abby: My husband and I have experienced a serious disconnect since the COVID-19 outbreak. I have very little interest in him and zero desire when it comes to sex. We have two small children at home, so Mommy/Daddy time is now nonexistent.
Dear Abby: My father, who has been gone for 40 years, had many good qualities, and he provided well for our family. I loved him and treasure many of the memories I have of my time with him. However, his deep-seated lechery overwhelmed his life and destroyed what might have been an idyllic ’5…
Dear Abby: My fiancée and I are in our early 50s. We dated for two years and have been engaged for three months. She’s a wonderful lady, and I can’t imagine life without her.
Dear Abby: My brother “Brian” and his wife, “Laurel,” have an adult son, “Dick,” who dated a girl I’ll call “Crystal” for 10 years before they got married. Everyone got along fine until Crystal gave birth.
Dear Abby: Our 19-year-old daughter is wonderful in many ways. She’s smart, attends a university on academic scholarships and earns excellent grades. The problem is the way she dresses. Her shorts are so short they show some cheek, the bathing suits she wears in our backyard pool are almost …
Dear Abby: I am a young woman who has battled rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome for the past eight years. My aunt passed away from complications of it at the age of 43, and I’m getting close to that age.
