ArcaMax

Dear Annie: I'm going through a difficult divorce after 58 years of marriage to an alcoholic. Recently he told me two things I never knew: that he slept with my sister the night before our wedding and, years later, when they were both in the military, with a friend of mine.

I always knew my sister flirted with him. She'd tried the same with ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have now been married and divorced three times, with a total of over 37 years of married life. Though I doubt I will marry again at this stage of life, I would like to find a woman interested in a lasting, serious relationship. In trying online dating services, thus far I have found most women run the other way or quickly giving ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father passed away earlier this year, and afterward my mother and sister moved to be closer to me. Since then, I have tried to help my mother as much as I can. I take her to doctors' appointments, help with everyday needs and do my best to make sure she is cared for.

Recently, my husband had to go out of state for work, and my ...Read more

Dear Annie: In response to all the working mothers who are weighed down by guilt, I'd like to share my experience.

I am 75 years old, and when I was growing up, my mother worked from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. I usually came home from school around 3:30 or 4, and my memories of that time are nothing but warm.

Before leaving for work, my mother made ...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm 22, working full time in the city, and recently started dating a guy I met through a mutual friend. We've only been seeing each other for about a month, and he really is a sweetheart. The problem is, the more I get to know him, the more I wonder whether we are simply in very different places in life.

He is in his late 20s, ...Read more

Dear Annie: For as long as I can remember, my mother has been extremely generous with gifts, sometimes to the point of being over the top. My sister and I have always thanked her, while also telling her she doesn't need to fill our cars with presents for birthdays and holidays. Still, she continues.

Lately, though, her gift giving has started...Read more

Dear Annie: I know I am stuck in the "old ways," but I am trying to adapt to changing times. It is becoming very common for couples to live together before marriage.

While I have come to accept traditional and extravagant weddings as an occasion to finally declare their commitment before church and family, what I still struggle with are the ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have a friend, "Rosie," who kicked me out to the curb (metaphorically speaking) when her sister moved into her mobile home park.

Prior to her sister's moving into the neighborhood, Rosie and I saw a lot of each other. I was always sewing for Rosie, her husband and her mother-in-law at little or no cost. I sent food to her after ...Read more

Dear Annie: My granddaughter, "Melanie," thinks that she has a half-sister 24 years younger.

Melanie believes that her father, long divorced from her mother, was asked by his former unattached girlfriend with whom he remained friendly, to "help" her have a child before it becomes biologically too late.

Now, my granddaughter has become very ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently turned 27 and feel as if life is just passing me by. I try so many different things to find career opportunities and to meet other people but nothing leads to anything, and I am always stuck back at square one.

It seems like nobody ever gives me a chance (social and economic). Is there a way to move on in life without ...Read more

ATTENTION "DEAR ANNIE" EDITORS: ANNIE LANE IS OFF TODAY. THE FOLLOWING COLUMN WAS PREVIOUSLY RELEASED IN 2018. THANK YOU. -- CREATORS

Gift Gaffe

Dear Annie: On a yearly basis, my employer recognizes employees who have dedicated 10, 15, 20, etc. years of service as well as individuals who are retiring. These employees have their names published...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our 70s, and he is experiencing depression from lack of contact with his children. I don't mean Facebook, because he sees them on there. They do not call like they did in the past. I am sure they feel that since he can actually see them on the screen, he knows what they are up to and what they are doing. Thus,...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our early 60s, married for 40-plus years. We plan to retire and travel soon. But the past year or so he seemed to become obsessed with his smartphone, holding his phone all the time and guarding it. I asked him if he had a Facebook account and he said no. But when I entered his cell number in the Facebook ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've never written an advice column before, but I honestly don't know where else to turn.

My mother is elderly, physically frail and becoming increasingly confused. Earlier this year, she developed pneumonia and was so sick she could barely function. Her longtime boyfriend, who'd spent years neglecting, stealing from and verbally ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been married to a wonderful man for 30 years. His family has always made me feel like an outsider -- rude, dismissive, the works.

Ten years ago, I finally stepped back from them. We reconnected briefly five years ago when his father passed, mostly with his mother, but this year they've slid right back into their old habits. ...Read more

Dear Annie: My granddaughter has a boyfriend who keeps cheating on her -- three times now, and those are only the times I know about. Each time, she takes him back, swearing he's changed. I'm old enough to know how that story ends.

She's smart and kind, and I hate watching her with someone who doesn't treat her the way she deserves. I've ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am Jewish and have been dating a wonderful Catholic man for almost two years. We love each other and have started talking seriously about marriage. Until recently, our different religions did not seem like a problem. We respected each other's traditions, celebrated holidays with both families and never pressured one another to ...Read more

Dear Annie: My father died two years ago after more than 50 years of marriage. Since then, my mother seems to have stopped living.

She spent her entire adult life caring for my father and raising our family. She rarely did anything just for herself. My father handled the finances, made most of the decisions and was the more social one.

Now ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I are at odds over whether to send our two children to sleepaway camp next summer. He went every year from the time he was 8 and talks about it as one of the happiest parts of his childhood. He says camp taught him independence, helped him make lifelong friends and gave him a confidence he never would have developed ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 16 and met a girl while visiting relatives over summer break. We spent almost every day together, and I felt closer to her than I have ever felt to anyone. By the end of the summer, we both admitted that we had fallen in love.

The problem is that she lives on the opposite coast. Since coming home, we text constantly and talk ...Read more