DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my wonderful husband for 10 years. My father-in-law, “John,” has always been a man of extremely few words with me. He mostly just ignores me when I’m around. I have mentioned it to my husband and mother-in-law over the years, and they say he’s just “weird.” Last year, […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were both married previously. We have been together for seven years. When we first started dating, we would sometimes go to one of the casinos after dinner as a fun outing. We never spent much money and went only occasionally. Our game of choice was the slot machine. Over […]

DEAR ABBY: My son is almost 3. He is the light of my life. I love him more than I can describe, but sometimes I can’t handle his energy. We carefully monitor how much sugar he eats and we are sure his diet is not what’s causing the problem. Mostly I think he is just […]

DEAR ABBY: I have an extremely bright 7-year-old daughter, “Amy,” from a previous marriage. Her biological father, “Jake,” and I separated when she was an infant. He lives across the country, so while we shared custody, Amy usually saw him only once a year. For a while I called him “Dad” when talking about him […]

DEAR ABBY: During the past three years, my husband and I managed to save about $45,000 for a down payment on the purchase of a new home. (We each put in about half.) Early last month, I asked my husband if he liked one house we had just seen, and he confessed that he had […]

DEAR ABBY: When parents who live many miles away from their adult children visit their homes, to what extent should they be treated as “guests”? When we visit our son, our daughter-in-law gets herself a snack and then sits down to eat it and watch TV, and there we sit. She never offers us a […]

DEAR ABBY: My wife of 37 years has an exciting career she loves. Unfortunately, her job is 80 miles away from home. We own a condo in her work city. So recently, when she was complaining about the commute, I suggested she stay there for a week, then telecommute from home for a week, etc. […]

DEAR ABBY: For 17 years I have been using the same hairstylist, “Marietta,” because she does great cuts and color. She’s married to my cousin “Gil,” but not for long. They’re divorcing. Gil’s mother suggested I should find a different stylist, but when I did, I had horrible results. I returned to Marietta and it […]

DEAR ABBY: Our 7-year-old grandson has been a handful since he was able to walk. He has been sneaky and has told lies for as long as any of us can remember. He has been suspended from school more than 10 times for various things. He stole several hundred dollars from his mom’s purse and […]

DEAR ABBY: I am in my late 20s and recently became engaged to my boyfriend of more than a year. He is in his early 30s. His parents live on the other side of the country, and we see them only twice a year. We plan on visiting them for the holidays, and some friends […]