DEAR ABBY: I recently retired, but I haven’t told anyone. I receive widow’s benefits, so I’m comfortable financially. I like my privacy, and I’m afraid things will change if I tell people about my retirement. My father is dying of cancer. My best friend says if I were her sister, she’d be mad at me. […]
Dear Abby
Mom fights feelings of guilt over son being an only child
DEAR ABBY: I am the mother of a 13-year-old son, my only child. For the past 10 years I have been living with mounting guilt over the fact that he doesn’t have a sibling. It’s not because my husband and I haven’t tried, we have. But fertility issues took us down an empty road, and […]
Sweet man sours marriage by calling his wife fat
DEAR ABBY: I am a large, overweight woman. I have been in the process of losing weight for more than five years. I got married three years ago to an amazing guy. He’s the sweetest man I have ever met. Something he said recently really bothers me. He said he thinks I’m fat. While I […]
Single mom crave’s family’s embrace of her daughters
DEAR ABBY: I am a single mother of two biracial daughters ages 2 and 4. They fill my life with joy and I am thankful to be their mother. My problem is, I haven’t been able to face my family members since the birth of my second child. My family has strong Christian roots, and […]
Counseling can’t save marriage lacking intimacy
DEAR ABBY: I have been married for almost three years to a woman who refuses to share the same bed with me. It started on our honeymoon when, after having sex, she chose to sleep in a different bed whenever there were two beds in the room. She’s in her late 40s and had never […]
Wife foresees a rocky road with husband suffering dementia
DEAR ABBY: After two failed marriages, I married a wonderful man whom I love but am not in love with. He recently had a seizure, after which he was diagnosed with moderate dementia. All I see is a long, dark road ahead. We are both senior citizens with not a long time left on this […]
Postal workers receive kudos for caring
DEAR ABBY: While our daughter was on vacation with our small grandkids, she bought them postcards and suggested they write us about their vacation. She said she laughed when the kids finished with the cards because she hadn’t realized they didn’t know how to write a postcard. The children had turned the cards sideways and […]
Dad’s rough horseplay looks a lot like abuse
DEAR ABBY: I am a grandmother and great-grandmother who is concerned about the behavior of my grandson toward his 7-year-old daughter, ”Beth,” and her 9-year-old cousin, ”Mandy.” When Mandy recently visited me, she told me her uncle crept up behind her, put his hand over her mouth and then held her nose so she couldn’t […]
Family resents boyfriend for usurping dad’s chair
DEAR ABBY: My beloved father passed away three years ago. One of my older sisters moved in with Mom to help take care of her and be her companion. My sister has a boyfriend my father absolutely disliked, and the rest of our family doesn’t like him either. My issue (and I’m not the only […]
Husband wants long-lost sister to remain that way
DEAR ABBY: My husband and his sister had a rough childhood in foster care. Long story short, they lost contact for 10 years — until now. She found us on Facebook and was desperate to know if she had found her brother or not. My husband ignored her. He isn’t sure he ever wants to […]