ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: I'm a mother of twin daughters who are graduating from high school this year and preparing to head off to college. They both dreamed of going to the University of Notre Dame, and they worked hard throughout high school to make it happen. When the acceptance letters came in, only one of them made it. The other, unfortunately, did ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My daughter is graduating from high school, but she does not want a party. I would still like to send out graduation cards to help celebrate her achievement, but I don't know how to write it. Should I state that she is not having a party, but that she is attending the ceremony?

I would like for people to have a way to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm in my early 30s and have been dating someone for nearly two years. On paper, he is everything my parents could have hoped for. He has a stable career; he is kind, respectful, family-oriented and well-liked by everyone. My friends and family think I have hit the jackpot.

The problem is, I am not sure I feel the kind of deep ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Regarding "Silver Girl in New York" (Jan. 5), whose husband is making her feel less loved because she decided to not color her hair anymore, this is her decision to make, not his. He needs to grow up.

You advised her to wear a red wig when he is feeling amorous. What were you thinking? So, she is supposed to be uncomfortable in her ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I was out for a walk with my dog when out of nowhere, my neighbor's dog came charging toward us. He had slipped out of his collar and was clearly not under control. He lunged at me and my dog, growling and snapping. I had to shield my dog and myself, and for a moment, I genuinely thought we were going to get seriously hurt.

What...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: There is a relatively nice person who works near me in a busy financial office. They are talented and smart, but they have an annoying habit of interjecting a constant stream of unsolicited advice and warnings about health into every single conversation.

They will warn me of the plastic in teabags as they watch me make a cup ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been together for 13 years and married for 10. We've always had what I believed was a stable, loving relationship. In all that time, we've only had a handful of arguments -- certainly nothing major or frequent.

But recently, during a heated disagreement, he said something that completely shattered me. In the ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: The woman I've been married to for the last 10 years is spending her time away from home. She isn't seeing another man or hanging out in bars. She leaves at any time of the day and goes to the casino. She also plays online throughout the day or evening. She stays out all night until sometimes 8 or 9 o'clock the next morning.

I have ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 57-year-old woman, and I've been in an off-and-on relationship for nearly 11 years with a man who is 30. Yes, there's a big age gap, but in the beginning, it felt like we truly connected. We got married, and for a while, I thought we had something special.

But over the years, he's developed a pattern: he leaves -- sometimes ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Ever since I was a child, my mom has regarded me as wise, thoughtful and intelligent. She has confided about family issues, tensions at church and cheating at her workplace. Abby, I don't want to be her confidant. Am I doomed to always hear her never-ending problems? She creates them herself by jumping to conclusions and suspecting ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently got married, and while most of the day went beautifully, there's one thing that's really been bothering me: One of my bridesmaids, whom I considered a close friend, didn't show up to the wedding. She never told me why. We had been in touch leading up to the big day, and as far as I knew, everything was fine. She had ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend, who professes to love me, behaved irrationally on a two-day visit to my house. He says he is always in a lot of pain due to fibromyalgia, neuropathy and a tendon missing in his shoulder.

I have two disintegrating discs pressing on nerves in my lower back, which is very painful. During his visit, I waited on him hand...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a retired, divorced man who had a fulfilling career, but I now struggle to find female companionship. I was mostly focused on my career and got married in my mid-40s, partly out of loneliness, and together we have a daughter in her 20s. Looking back, I don't think I was ever truly in love with my ex-wife. Still, I've never ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My stepdaughter, "Allie," (whom I've raised as my own since she was 2), has banned my 39-year-old daughter's 19-year-old girlfriend "Taylor" from coming to her house for the holidays. She dislikes that Taylor is 20 years younger than her sister. Because of this, I decided to celebrate the holidays at my house instead of hers.

My ...Read more

DEAR HARIETTE: I have been arguing with my husband for years. He regularly speaks to me like I am an idiot. He is rude and downright nasty. I have pleaded with him to stop treating me like this. I have asked him to go to therapy with me so we can figure out how to communicate better, but he refuses.

We had a huge blow-up the other day when I ...Read more