DEAR ABBY: My husband of 20 years, “Jerry,” recently learned about an old girlfriend’s death. A Facebook friend informed him about it. The message arrived late at night while I was sleeping, and he woke me to tell me the news. He is now receiving condolences from friends that he is responding to as though […]
advice column
Roommate jeopardizing her relationship
DEAR ABBY: I have been in a relationship with “Mason” for almost two years. I moved in with him a few months back, and things have been very good between us. I know he’s The One, and I’d marry him right now if he’d ask. My problem is his roommate, “Ryan.” Mason has hinted about […]
Mother in tears over daughter’s attitude
DEAR ABBY: I recently traveled to Germany to help my 19-year-old daughter settle in for her semester of study abroad. I was in tears the entire trip home, not because I was sad to leave her, but because she kept lashing out at me for anything from using a cotton swab to following proper directions […]
Family disagrees about table manners
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have a disagreement about when a person should be allowed to get up from the table. We have an 8-month-old son whom we both want to grow up to have good manners. We know he’ll soon be out of his high chair and become squirmy and not want to […]
Friend’s family has worn out welcome
DEAR ABBY: “Charlotte” and I have been friends for 16 years, ever since we met in college. She lives several states away, so we see each other only once a year when she and her family come to town for a long weekend. Beyond this annual get-together, we never chat on the phone, and communication […]
Programs offer healing for sexual addiction
DEAR ABBY: After reading the letter from “Dumbstruck in Chicago” (April 24), who’s dating a recently divorced man who was unfaithful to his ex-wife through multiple affairs and one-night stands with prostitutes, I cannot stay silent. That man screams of being a sex addict. He needs the help of a certified sex addiction therapist before […]
Husband needs to commit to his health
DEAR ABBY: My husband has become very overweight, which has caused his sex drive — as well as his health — to suffer. I worry about him constantly, and I miss the intimacy we used to have. He is aware of how I feel and started trying to eat healthier. He also tries to exercise […]
She’s in the middle of a messy situation
DEAR ABBY: I have two friends I am equally close to, “Jane” and “Mary.” We live in the same neighborhood. They are both married, live across the street from each other and spend time together almost every day. Their children play together. I spend a lot of time with both families, and my children play […]
Father’s Day a painful emptiness for her
DEAR ABBY: I got a stepdad when I was a young teen. He never tried to replace my dad, and was very respectful of that relationship. I didn’t regard him as a father figure, but more as a relative, friend and a good man who has done a lot of good for my family. I’m […]
She doesn’t find family’s pranks funny
DEAR ABBY: I tend to react poorly when someone pulls a prank on me. My reaction is usually anger, hurt or embarrassment, and I end up saying or doing things I later regret because emotion took over. My husband has always liked playing pranks, and my children have started to follow his lead. The pranks […]