ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I appreciate you offering your booklet "How to Be Popular" to people who are uncomfortable or uncertain in social situations. I don't know if the following tips are included, but here's what I do: When I meet someone for the first time, I say, "Tell me three things about yourself that you would like to share." As I listen to the ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a mature male who had a weight problem years ago. When I turned 50, I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes. I took my doctor's advice about diet and 150 minutes of exercise a week. Fast-forward to today, and I have lost almost half my body weight and am now in good shape.

My problem now is finding ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I met a young man on Facebook. He is a philanthropist, and we have been talking for more than six months. He's kind and sweet, and he tells me he loves me. He works around the world as an interior designer and will be returning to the States in a couple of weeks.

The problem is, I'm 30 years older than he is. He has seen photos of me...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My son is engaged to a girl we all love, but recently, there's been an issue. My husband was at their house while my son's fiancee was finishing up getting ready for their date night. (They live 10 minutes from us, and my husband has been there often since his retirement.) When she was done, she came downstairs, told my husband they ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My nephew-to-be has just turned 14. He has older parents (his mom was 42 when he was born) and is so socially inept that we fear for his future. His mom is more than a helicopter parent -- she still orders his food for him at restaurants. My son is 15 and very different -- he's mature, has a job, takes honor classes and is an outgoing...Read more

DEAR ABBY: We are a male couple celebrating 34 years of partnership. We recently took a cruise, during which we met four straight couples traveling together who welcomed us into their group. It was a pleasant experience, and we were delighted to make friends with whom we anticipated sailing again. In fact, the group booked a future cruise ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband, "Guy," and I enjoyed a happy marriage for 30 years, despite the fact that his mother disliked me and did everything she could to undermine our relationship. Guy died suddenly in his sleep last month while we were vacationing in South Asia. I cut the trip short, but between complying with local legalities, arranging for his...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A close male friend, "Will," ended our friendship without warning. I didn't know he had such strong feelings about my current arrangement. I have been dating a married man, "Bart," whose wife suggested he get himself a girlfriend if he wanted sex/intimacy/companionship. She also told him she would "never want to sleep with him again."...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend's mom has dementia. He asked me and my kids to move in with him and said he would marry me. In exchange, he expected me to quit my job and take care of his mom. I felt it was a disaster waiting to happen, and taking care of someone with dementia while raising two teenagers was a terrible idea, so I refused.

He put his ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Two years ago, my mother developed a small nagging cough, and her overall health started to decline. She entered the hospital on a Monday and by the end of the week, she had passed away from a very aggressive form of lung cancer. We were very close, and I was devastated.

I prepared the obituary and also posted an announcement on ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm married, and in my mid-40s. My wife and I have a robust social life, for which we both feel very lucky and blessed. We have amazing friends who are a wonderful support system and with whom we go out regularly.

Lately, our wives have been wanting to go to dance clubs, where the majority of people are half our age. I'm the youngest...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My sister's fiance, "Logan," always seemed very flirtatious with me. I told her she needed to control her future husband. After they were married, the same gestures and innuendos kept happening, and I reminded my sister about it. Logan did and said inappropriate things right in front of her. Once she even commented, "Geez, you married...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I've been seeing "Pete" for eight months. He has been divorced for the last 15 years. He has two grown children and five grandchildren with his ex-wife, "Linda," who is still a significant person in Pete's life. They text throughout the day and enjoy doing things with Linda's husband.

Pete is having major surgery soon. He has ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My son-in-law and I had words five years ago. Two years ago, I wrote him a letter of apology and told him it was always "family first." My daughter confirmed he received the letter.

They recently had their fourth child. We haven't seen their first since he was 2 or the second since she was born, and we've seen the third only once. I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been around "Kendra" since she was 4. I am 59 and not married to her mother, although we are good friends. Kendra is 36 now and has an 8-year-old son. She lives with her boyfriend, who is the father. They are not married. We have a great relationship.

For some reason, over the past four months, my feelings for Kendra have ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: Eight years ago, my husband of 26 years had a stroke, and his personality changed. He was difficult to deal with, but, with time, his old personality came back, and things got better.

Two years ago, he finally kicked a longtime prescription drug habit. Our finances improved almost overnight (for which I am grateful), but his ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm struggling to continue my relationship with my dad, who is in his 80s. He recently became very ill and nearly died. He was unable to walk for several months, and when he was finally able to start getting around, it was with a wheelchair and walker. Dad started driving his truck, although my brother and I strongly suggested it wasn...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A married couple we met six years ago had a vacation house near ours. We became friendly and would have dinners and drinks and hang out together doing various fun activities. Once her husband passed, it was just the three of us.

When I'm not in the area of our vacation house and my husband is, he thinks it's still appropriate to do ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My sister and I grew up with our father after our parents divorced. He was a hoarder. Years later, when he finally had to move out, it took three moving trucks to empty the two-bedroom house. You can imagine what that was like. I am very triggered by clutter. I appreciate an organized home with space to breathe.

My husband of 10 ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A friend retired, moved and gave me her well-paying, once-a-week job doing industrial cleaning. It pays a sizable chunk of our bills. My husband, who agreed to work with me doing this, gives me a hard time every week by being late.

We need to be there after business hours at 5:30 p.m. so we don't interrupt anyone while they're ...Read more