DEAR ABBY: I love my grandson dearly. He lived with us off and on growing up because there were problems in his birth family. Our relationship was always close and loving. I confess that we spoiled him out of fear that at any moment his mother would stop us from seeing him. When he grew […]

DEAR ABBY: I play cards with a group of men I have known for more than 20 years. We switch partners after six hands so everyone partners with everyone. One member of the group has now become unable to remember the rules and constantly asks how he should respond to his partner’s bid. He also […]

DEAR ABBY: My father — aged 68, active and in good health — has become increasingly obsessed with deciding who will get which of his belongings when he passes. Almost every conversation now consists of some form of “Do you think your cousin Joey would like my antique fishing lure collection?” I’m glad he’s thinking […]

DEAR ABBY: I joined the Navy after I learned I was becoming a father. I didn’t want to be a husband or father, but I did both. In 2010, my wife died. My feelings about being a husband and father never changed. Our two children are now grown and want me to move near — […]

DEAR READERS: I am often asked, “Do you ever hear back from the people who wrote to you?” The answer is yes, I do. A year ago, “Claire G. in California” wrote to bring awareness to a program called Knitted Knockers. Its members knit or crochet soft, lightweight prostheses for breast cancer survivors, and provide […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband had a medical event that left him unable to drive. He is very isolated despite my efforts to keep him connected. His children live an hour away, and it’s up to me to drive him to them. They rarely call him. He has a stepdaughter who lives only a few miles […]

DEAR ABBY: The winter months are hard for me. They remind me that another year has gone by without my father and my younger sister. Dad had been a smoker since his teens and died from pancreatic cancer at 39. I was 13, and my siblings were younger. In those days, we didn’t know that […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband, ”Ron,” and I have been married for 49 years. When we retired, we moved to Florida. Ron is 71 and healthy. He rides his bike 30 to 50 miles every day. He also mows the lawn and takes care of all the gardening. The problem is, after all that activity in […]

DEAR ABBY: I have a super-sensitive adult child who calls me regularly to criticize another sibling. Mothers do not like to hear their children being criticized by anyone — including their siblings. It’s hurtful, no matter who does it. I’m an old lady, and I don’t need this stress. I love all my children. They […]