Sister’s generousity is tainted by occupation DEAR ABBY: Two years ago my younger sister, “Cilla,” generously set up college funds for my three children. Each of the accounts has more than $25,000. My husband and I were stunned, but Cilla insisted she is making good money in the film industry and wanted to do this […]

DEAR ABBY: “Ralph” and I have been married two years. Two nights ago we had an argument, and he got mad and left. He was gone three hours. When he returned he screamed at me for what seemed like an hour. Finally, he went to bed. I looked through his phone and found several text […]

Mom fears burning bridges in exit interview DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have decided to take our son out of the day care where he has been for the past six months. It’s a small center, run by a woman, “Joni,” who serves as director and lead teacher. She started the service two years […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband, “Hugh,” is wonderful in every way except one. He is extremely controlling when it comes to money, particularly on what we spend on gifts for my grown children and our baby grandson. Not only does Hugh set the dollar limit for birthday and Christmas gifts, but he insists on deciding WHAT […]

DEAR ABBY: We invited our 5-year-old son’s entire class to his birthday party. Unbeknownst to us, another child had one scheduled the same day. Because my son was new to the school and hadn’t made friends yet, he wasn’t invited. Imagine how he felt when only one child showed up. Had even one parent RSVP’d […]

Man’s popluarity with kids troubles parents DEAR ABBY: I’m a 38-year-old man with no children. For some reason I tend to attract the attention of children wherever I go. Even though I make no attempt to speak to them, they often approach me. I know when children talk to strangers it makes their parents uncomfortable, […]

Dad deciphers son’s secret keystroke recording DEAR ABBY: My 16-year-old son, “Derrick,” recently stopped talking to me. Frustrated about not being able to open the lines of communication, I installed a keystroke recorder on our home computer. It enabled me to see what Derrick was writing in his e-mails. I know it was a violation […]

Friends opt out of couple’s parties DEAR ABBY: Our friends “Andy” and “Corinne” live out of state in Michigan. We visit them about twice a year. Our visits are planned weeks in advance. The last three times, on Saturday night they hosted a “swingers party.” The first time it happened we thought it was a […]

Not keeping up with Joneses has its rewards DEAR ABBY: The letter from “Embarrassed in Ohio” (May 28), who lives in an affluent suburb and is ashamed for her daughter’s friends to see her house and cars, hit home with me. We also live in a community where we can’t keep up. We’re in an […]

Woman is shocked to discover an old friend DEAR ABBY: I live in a major metropolitan area, so I am not unfamiliar with the sight of people who are down and out and living on the streets. Recently, while walking to work, I came face-to-face with an old acquaintance. We had dated briefly more than […]