ArcaMax

Dear Eric: Our married son and wife share all their plans, ideas, life experiences with her family and we hear nothing. We watch our grandkids, help them at a drop of a dime, we even spiff up the house when watching the kids and let their dogs out.

When we hear what they're doing or planning from her side of the family, we’ve had to stop ...Read more

Dear Eric: There is someone I have been friends with for more than 37 years. My husband and I moved to another state 12 years ago, but my friendship with this person has endured.

She calls every weekday and we mostly talk about her family and her kids, et cetera. About six months ago, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

For ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a long-retired senior citizen. I manage my days by finding things to do. In the evenings, I generally go out to a handful of local establishments. Being single I sit at the bar to dine and have a cocktail. I am friendly and chat with just about anyone

At one establishment, I run into a lady from time to time. She is married but ...Read more

Dear Eric: My wife and I, both seniors, have similar views, but get our news from different sources. I read online and listen to podcasts while doing mindless tasks, at the gym and on walks when she does not join me.

She is totally devoted to cable TV and prefers me to not interrupt; I can do better and am trying.

She feels my podcast ...Read more

Dear Eric: My daughter recently committed to a university across the country, and she is supposed to start in the coming fall. She is only 17 and we think that she should be older before starting this new chapter of her life.

This among other reasons is why my husband and I have been increasingly hesitant to send her off to college this year ...Read more

Dear Eric: Last year my sister posted on Facebook that I was the result of an affair my mother had many years ago. It was with her first husband which ended in an annulment in 1941.The affair was in 1957.

Throughout my life I did feel that way. My father, mother and three siblings had blond hair. I had brown hair, now gray. My paternal ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am having a hard time getting over an old fiancé from 2004 and the way this person went from "I can't live without you" for six years to turning on me viscously.

We never cursed at one another until one night in October. I was so crushed. I am with a wonderful man now. But I just cannot figure this out.

I can't and do not want to...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm mid-50s and I have three jobs (two part time as a college professor). I also have three grown children, a husband, my parents and many friends. I constantly get requests from co-workers and other friends for happy hours, dinners, brunches, workshops, seminars and other events.

As it is, I have a brutal work schedule of about 60 ...Read more

Dear Eric: I had a Mother’s Day card for my daughter, but needed her sons, ages 10 and 7 to sign it. Since I did not see them in time for Mother’s Day, I gave it to my daughter to give to them.

When I inquired about the card, my daughter’s husband said he had decided not to give the card because he had already done cards for her. He said,...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and I are retired. We have been married for 29 years. In the last several years he has refused to get rid of anything.

We downsized five years ago. During the move I was able to get him to donate some coats he could not wear but that was about all.

He was to go through the basement, work bench and garage. Unfortunately, ...Read more

Dear Eric: When hosting a party, what is the best way to ensure guests drive home safely if they have been drinking or are otherwise intoxicated?

– Safe Home

Dear Home: If a friend is impaired by alcohol or intoxicated, it’s imperative that they don’t get behind the wheel, full stop. Some methods for preventing this include taking their ...Read more

Dear Eric: Three years ago, I had a falling out with my cousin, Harris, at a family gathering. Harris, like me, is a retiree in his mid-60s. We have been friendly before this. Harris also has three siblings, and I am on great terms with all of them.

He confronted me about something I wrote in the family gathering’s logbook that he found ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been widowed for almost three years now. About a year ago, I began dating a guy significantly younger than me. Prior to our romantic involvement, we were close platonic friends for more than a decade, and he was in fact a close friend of my late husband.

We communicated well and thoroughly discussed the effects that dating may...Read more

Dear Eric: A close friend of 50 years has always gone out of her way, both in word and deed, to agree with my political views. She has participated enthusiastically in many advocacy events I have promoted. She has even gone so far as to express that her husband feels differently and that his views upset her so much, she might even leave him.

I ...Read more

Dear Eric: I lost my husband two years ago after a long, drawn-out decline. It was a traumatic ending.

Our son, now in his late 40s, was indifferent to his father’s decline. Our son has always been a challenge. Difficult teenage years with lots of poor decisions and rebellious behavior. He did not want to be a part of our family and has ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been undergoing tests to confirm a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and all the signs are pointing in that direction. While I navigate the medical system, test results and diagnosis, I am faced with the challenge of telling people about all of this.

I have three grown daughters who are relatively settled in life. I would like to...Read more

Dear Eric: My boyfriend has a second home in Florida where we stay three to four months a year. He pays "Marcus", a neighbor, to look in on the house and drive the car when we're not there.

Marcus has had issues with the car. One year, he apparently drove the car without gas and caused significant damage. The car is ancient, we could not prove ...Read more

Dear Eric: A family member chose to enlist in the Marines. A party was held for him. Everybody was asked to give cash, so he’d have what he needed while in basic training.

Less than 24 hours later we were told he changed his mind and decided not to enlist which thrilled everyone.

We were told that now the party was for his high school ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a 63-year-old friend who is miserable. She’s working a job she hates, doesn’t go out much and has no pension. She is always broke, her car is about to die and she’s talking about wanting to retire soon. The only thing she has is Social Security and half her ex-husband’s pension.

She blew her retirement by being scammed...Read more

Dear Eric: Last year I fell and fractured my wrist and was in quite a bit of pain while healing. Then again, this summer, I fell even harder and broke the same wrist and my forearm along with a fracture of the other arm. Yes, I guess I'm clumsy. I'm in my 50s and in decent shape so I'm not frail but it was taking a mental toll on me for months ...Read more