ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I'm hoping you can help me make sense of a situation that feels so small on the surface, yet so big in my heart.

A few months ago, my closest friend, "Melissa," and I fell into one of those quiet, accidental distances. Nothing dramatic happened. No argument. No betrayal. Just life. She got busy with her kids' sports schedules, and...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Our adult daughter has children we adore. She asked if we could help out by watching them for a few hours occasionally, and we jumped at that. We had done this regularly before the delivery of the newest addition (three months ago), and the kids would occasionally spend the night. With the new addition, she wanted us to come to her ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My mother passed away a few months ago, and I miss her so much. I was going through my phone recently and came upon some audio recordings of her talking about her life. Her voice sounds weak, but it was so nice hearing her tell her stories. It was bittersweet, though, as listening to her reminds me of the fact that I can't hug ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had cancer last year and lost my hair. I'm fine now, but my hair is growing back super curly. Every day, people make comments about it: "Oh, your hair! It's so curly!"

It's a painful reminder when I'm trying to feel normal again. I've tried explaining that I'm upset about my looks and don't like to be reminded, but then ...Read more

Dear Annie: Most nights, my phone lights up with our family group chat. My husband and I have three grown kids in their 20s, and I love seeing their jokes, photos and silly updates. It makes me feel like we are still all under one roof.

Last week, my son accidentally left his phone on our kitchen counter while I was cleaning up. A ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a stepgrandmother of a disabled granddaughter, "Laura," who has Down syndrome. She is 38. A few years ago, she weighed more than 300 pounds at only 5 feet tall. She ended up in the hospital with blood clots and almost died. The courts gave guardianship to her dad, my son-in-law. Laura's mother has visitation with Laura only one ...Read more

Dear Annie: I feel foolish even writing this, but I cannot tell if I am overreacting or if I have a real problem on my hands.

My best friend, "Dana," and I have been close for more than 20 years. We have raised our kids together, shared holidays, taken trips and weathered the usual storms of adult life. Lately, though, something has shifted. ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My son is 27. He has had some problems recently that were so serious I reached out to his father. His father and I were teenagers when we had him, so the last time we spoke was 18 years ago. Our relationship was really toxic, which is why we split when we were young. (We both had other children.) Since we've begun talking again, we ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter graduated from college a few months ago. She got her first career job and decided to move out. I advised her to stay at my home a while longer and use the opportunity to save some money, but she wanted to be on her own, so I supported her decision. Recently, I decided that I might use her bedroom as a sewing space. I ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My signature perfume is a well-known -- and expensive -- classic scent. For my last birthday I received not one, but two generous gifts of this perfume: one from a dear lifetime friend and another from a beloved cousin. Both live a long distance from me; we rarely meet face to face.

The problem is, both were knockoffs. I know...Read more

Dear Annie: Though I'm young, I often feel as if I'm living the life of someone much older. This past year, many brewing family crises collided between March and April.

One relative passed away from a condition we all knew about, but the loss still hit hard. Around the same time, my father lost our family home, and we were evicted in March, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Our 20-year-old son works full time and lives with us. He doesn't do any household chores or pay us anything, not even his car insurance (which he agreed to pay). He then moved his girlfriend in, and after that a dog, without permission. He has anxiety and depression issues, which he thinks he's treating with marijuana.

When we try ...Read more

Dear Annie: I don't understand why people see me as a threat. I have no devious plans or intentions. I've never been in a fight. Throughout my life, I've been bullied -- from elementary school all the way through college -- by the same girl. Despite everything, I've always tried to help others. I feed the homeless, even though I am homeless ...Read more

The emails started early this year, alongside the creep of holiday decor where fat Santas pushed skeletons off the endcaps so fast that the turkeys just waddled back to the clearance aisles. Those emails all carried that corporate form, interlaced with out-of-office alerts and the familiar refrain of "Let's circle back after the holidays."

It's...Read more

Dear Readers: Thanksgiving has a way of sneaking up on us, doesn't it? One minute we're rushing through the year, taking the kids to games and meeting deadlines, and the next we're standing over turkey and wondering how the year flew by so fast. But beneath the noise of the dinner table and all the pie crusts, this day gives us something rare:...Read more