DEAR ABBY: My husband gets very upset when our 4-year-old sons don’t share his enthusiasm over something that excites him. He wants them (and me) to jump up and down or cheer when he’s excited about something. The problem is, he tends to share his news when we’re getting ready for bed or just plain […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband gets very upset when our 4-year-old sons don’t share his enthusiasm over something that excites him. He wants them (and me) to jump up and down or cheer when he’s excited about something. The problem is, he tends to share his news when we’re getting ready for bed or just plain […]

DEAR ABBY: My sister and I have always been close. She’s married to a man I have always thought is domineering and arrogant. I also suspect that he’s emotionally abusive from things she has confided over the years. These include days of the silent treatment, refusing to celebrate her birthday because he doesn’t believe in […]

DEAR ABBY: My daughter-in-law, “Brooke,” lost her grandfather five weeks ago. She has chosen not to tell her 4- and 10-year-old kids about it. She has ordered my husband, me and our son not to mention it. The kids see her grandmother at least once a week, and SHE is not supposed to tell them […]

DEAR ABBY: I am widowed after 45 years of marriage. A male work friend of 20 of those years wants to have a relationship with me but he’s still married. We have already had incredible phone sex because he said he’s in a sexless marriage. I enjoy our long conversations. He lives up north and […]

DEAR ABBY: I met a man, “Gabe,” 30 years ago. We had a very good time together. We dated some and even traveled occasionally. I liked him a lot but, when we met, I was divorced and looking for marriage. He was not. I moved for my job, and met and married someone else. Gabe […]

DEAR ABBY: My fiance, “Rowan,” and I are getting married this year. It is my second marriage and his first. Rowan has a young son I’ll call “Sean” from a previous relationship. I have a good relationship with Sean, and expressed to Rowan that I’d love to include Sean on our honeymoon, so we can […]

DEAR ABBY: Last year my mother passed away after a 15-year battle with lung cancer. When I tell people she died, I am not bothered if they ask what she died from. However, more often than not, when they learn she died of lung cancer, they proceed to ask me if she ever smoked. It’s […]

DEAR ABBY: My adult son has a drug addiction, for which he is receiving treatment. My family and I have just met his daughter, who we had only recently learned about. She’s 6. I had a celebration for her birthday at my house. My mom (the great-grandma) took pictures of the birthday girl and her […]

DEAR ABBY: I have a daughter, “Molly,” who is in her late 30s. Her father and I divorced when she was an infant, and I raised her, with help from my family, until I remarried. Her father had visitation and paid child support, but that’s where it ended. Throughout Molly’s life, I have taken care […]