ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I've known my friend "Ella" for over 50 years. In the last few years, for whatever reason, she only wants to communicate with me via texting. She has no medical or mental issues. I just saw her at her sister's funeral.

I've told her that I don't wish to communicate through texting only. I keep asking her why we just can't talk on ...Read more

Dear Annie: From the time I was in second grade, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But everyone around me insisted it was a terrible idea. So, I chose the "safe" path and became a teacher, spending two years in a high school English classroom before transitioning to a role as a school librarian.

I also married a man I believed was the love of ...Read more

Dear Annie: I went on a 10-day girls trip with five other women, including my best friend. By the third day, I realized I was being singled out for having different opinions and struggling to keep up physically. I have lung disease, but these women (all older with their own limitations) dismissed it as something an inhaler could fix.

We had ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband pouts and refuses to come with me when I visit our kids and grandkids, choosing instead to stay home watching TV and playing on his computer. I used to make excuses for him -- saying he was busy or doing chores -- but now I just tell the truth: "Grandpa's crabby and staying home."

His father used to fake stomachaches ...Read more

Dear Annie: My cousin, who is more like a sister to me, has been making a series of reckless and concerning choices over the past year. After having her second baby, she left her husband and began dating a string of borderline-abusive men. Now she's signing over full custody of her children to her ex-husband and impulsively buying a house out ...Read more

Dear Annie: For 32 years, I've been married to a wonderful partner who comes from a loving family. There was a crisis a year ago when my spouse was on business, and while they were working to get back home, our families stepped up to support us. A relative of my partner's showed particular concern, which surprised me. I care about this ...Read more

Dear Annie: I was out having lunch with a friend I've known for many years. We met when our children were babies; they are grown adults now.

We have only been meeting up once a week for lunch since April 2024, as we both have more time now that I have retired and she works part time.

The thing is, I'm feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment....Read more

Dear Annie: How do I get across to a sibling that she can't order me to come and be a caretaker for our ailing mother? Mom is almost 92 and is recovering from a stroke. It has affected her vision, so there are many daily things she cannot do for herself. She no longer drives; her poor motor skills don't allow her to cook or handle hot items on...Read more

Dear Annie: I never thought I had a screen time problem until my daughter called me out. The other night, we were sitting on the couch together, and she was excitedly telling me about her day. Without thinking, I picked up my phone to check a notification. She stopped mid-sentence and sighed, "Never mind, you're not even listening." That hit ...Read more

Dear Readers: So many of you wrote in about the nurse column, and I truly appreciate your feedback and your service. Nursing is one of the most vital professions, and nurses deserve both respect and protection for the critical work they do.

Below are two perspectives from fellow nurses.

Dear Annie: As a fellow veteran nurse, I wanted to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been married to a wonderful man for seven years, and we have a strong, loving relationship. However, after Valentine's Day, I found myself feeling a bit sad.

In all our years together, my husband has never given me flowers -- not for Valentine's Day, our anniversary or any other special occasion. Gifts, in general, don't seem...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 64-year-old woman, and I have a wonderful boyfriend whom I love deeply. We've been together for over a year, and he's a kind, loving man who happens to be on dialysis. I take care of him, and while I don't resent it, it does make life more complicated. I've also been through a lot -- 35 years of marriage that ended in divorce...Read more

Dear Annie: I retired early from a stressful job about a year ago and now work part-time in an office with one other full-time secretary who started at the same time I did. She pushes most of the work onto me while she spends most of her day on her cellphone or shopping online. When my work is done, I sometimes use my phone for personal tasks,...Read more

Dear Annie: I believe it's a bad idea for people to share their unsolicited opinions on other people's parenting, especially not someone like me, who is young, single, childless and barely knows what to do with my own life.

Still, I can't help but worry about my brother's lifestyle. His house is a mess, and not just a "child lives here" kind ...Read more

Dear Annie: My mother-in-law recently moved in with us after a very (thankfully) minor stroke. She has NO savings, and up until that point she was working sporadically just to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly.

If I may backtrack back to the no savings ... For the past 30 years, she has literally laid in bed and watched TV all ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been married for over 20 years, and my husband has always handled our finances. I trusted him to take care of everything, but recently, I've started to feel uneasy. When I ask about our savings, bills or retirement plans, he either brushes me off or gives vague answers. I don't know if he's hiding something or if he just doesn...Read more

Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very happy Presidents Day. Hope you are having the day off to relax and unwind. Here are some inspirational quotes from past presidents.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -- Barack Obama

"It is ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 73-year-old widow, and I lost my husband in 2018. I had two grown sons; one passed away last October, and the other no longer speaks to me. He believes I abandoned him, though we were never very close.

In 2012, he convinced me to move into a home he purchased, saying it would be best for my husband and me. Later, he claimed ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been with my partner for over 15 years and have helped him build his business from the ground up. I handle everything -- paying bills, filing taxes, ordering supplies and assisting customers -- often working 70-hour weeks. Despite my dedication, he once accused me of stealing. I proved my innocence, yet he still makes comments...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been in a relationship with "Adrienne" for eight years. We've both been divorced for about a decade, and our children, now teens, are around the same age. She has one daughter, and I have a boy and a girl. We aren't married but live a few miles apart, celebrating birthdays and holidays as a "blended" family and enjoying annual...Read more