DEAR ABBY: I have decided that when I have kids I don’t want to do the whole “Santa” thing. I’d rather tell them about the real St. Nicholas and what it means to give rather than to receive. Even though I’m not religious, I’ll tell them about the birth of Jesus (even though he wasn’t […]

DEAR ABBY: I had my last cigarette and drink of alcohol 50 years ago. Back then, excessive drinking, smoking, overeating or nail-biting were signs of weak will, sinfulness, bad upbringing and who knows what else. Fortunately, over the years the pendulum swung, making it possible for literally millions of people to get into recovery for […]

DEAR ABBY: I recently took my children to spend a week with my mother-in-law, “Bea.” Three days after we arrived, my husband flew in to join us. The next day, Bea handed me a hotel room key and told me to take as many of the children as I wanted, but I could not take […]

DEAR ABBY: I have a very hard time expressing my condolences. I panic and avoid sadness at all costs. I’ll give you two examples: My boss’s husband died. (I worked for him, too.) Because I couldn’t talk to her, I avoided her like she had the plague. Another time, a close friend’s son tried to […]

DEAR ABBY: When I was growing up, I was taught to love animals and I had several. For various reasons I never had to deal with making the decision to put one to sleep. As I grew older, I realized we don’t have the right to “own” living creatures, but we can take care of […]

DEAR ABBY: My husband tends to be a major clutterbug. We had an argument last night about him storing a set of encyclopedias. My argument is that we have never used them and never will, since they are “dinosaurs” in today’s modern world. Any information can be looked up digitally. He was given these encyclopedias […]

DEAR ABBY: It has been a year since my mother passed away. The month of February was especially tough because it was the month of her birthday and also the month in which she died. Mother’s Day will be here soon, and I’m already feeling bitter, anticipating all of the commercials, advertising, brunches and everything. […]

DEAR ABBY: We’re proud parents of a new baby girl. She’s adorable, and we feel lucky and blessed. Although having a new baby is an exciting, magical time, it is also very stressful. Sleep deprivation, difficulty with breast-feeding, plus endless visits and phone calls can wear any new parent thin. Also, if Mom had an […]

DEAR ABBY: I have been widowed for five years. I have a close friend, “Louise,” who was also close to my late husband. She promised him on his deathbed she would “take care of me” when he was gone. Well, she has taken it to the extreme. She became very controlling and didn’t want me […]

DEAR ABBY: My nephew is getting married next year. I was very excited because I love him and I’m a baker. I had planned on making the groom’s cake as I did for his brother’s and sister’s weddings. The problem is, they have decided on a hunting theme for their wedding — including a camouflage […]