ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My wife and I, along with a few family friends, needed to travel to Canada for a funeral. We decided it would be more economical to drive, so I booked the rental vehicle. Our friends let us know that they'd send us their contribution before we hit the road. The day before our departure, they called, saying they might just take a ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I enjoy having friends and acquaintances from different walks of life, and have found unexpected kinship with people who hold beliefs very different from my own. In other words, I try not to be judgmental. My natural inclination when meeting someone is to find common ground.

However, I recently found myself in a situation ...Read more

Dear Annie: I suffer from severe anxiety over everything. I am and have been on medication for some time and I do see a therapist, but nothing seems to help. I have my share of issues, but my mind always jumps to the worst possible outcomes.

In December, I had a hemorrhage. The doctors gave me pain medicine and told me it was colitis after a ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My son has trouble telling the truth. He was getting up late, dressing for work, leaving and coming back early. When my husband and I asked him about having a job, he said he had one. When we asked him to show us his paycheck, he fumbled around on his phone, then he confessed that he had no job. He said he has been at the library ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My teenage daughter is upset with me because I told her she couldn't go to a concert with her friends. The show is in a nearby city, and while she insists everyone else's parents are letting them go, I don't feel comfortable with her being out so late in such a large, unsupervised crowd. She's 15, and the concert would end well ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What do you do when the duty to write thank-you notes overwhelms any genuine sense of gratitude?

In my own upbringing, reciprocity and eagerness to give were prized over the finer points of expressing gratitude, and I confess that my gratitude muscle has suffered as a result. I am trying to strengthen it by practicing writing...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been dating a man, "Daniel," for about a year. He's kind, reliable and has a great relationship with his family. I care about him a lot, but there's something that keeps nagging at me. He's never been very ambitious. He works a steady job, pays his bills, but doesn't seem interested in growing professionally. He often says he'...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My mom is in her early 80s. More and more often lately, she seems to be avoiding seeing me and my siblings. It wasn't always like this. She would let me, my husband and our kids stay with her when we visited. Even last year, when she fell and injured herself, she let me stay with her for a couple of days to help out.

My siblings have...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I had a difficult first pregnancy that took a serious toll on my physical and mental health. From severe morning sickness to complications that required hospitalization, the experience left me exhausted and anxious about the possibility of going through it again. Because of this, I've decided that I don't want to have another ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We are frequent cruisers. That means we share spaces such as elevators, dining rooms, theaters, lounges, etc., with fellow cruisers we don't know. We have always had pleasant times interacting with others.

On our most recent cruise, we encountered an older couple -- sometimes in the elevators, sometimes in our top-tier lounge...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister "Claire" and I have always been close, but things have shifted since she had her first baby eight months ago. I understand that motherhood changes things, but lately I feel like I've been pushed to the sidelines. Every conversation revolves around the baby, and when I try to bring up anything going on in my life, she ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am frustrated with my husband. We have been together 18 years. When it gets close to my menstrual cycle, he gets into an angry panic for us to be intimate because he travels for work and is home only four nights a week. If we're not able to, he pouts, then becomes angry and distant, and peppers me for updates to determine how soon ...Read more

When career becomes life and there are virtually no boundaries between them, work stops being the connection it can -- and should -- be. When does that happen? Well, for one thing, when there is nothing it can connect you to. Think about that, please. In the same way an alcoholic hides behind a bottle, you could be using your job to protect ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: A few weeks ago, I had a really embarrassing accident at work. I tripped in the office and split my pants right in front of my colleagues. On top of that, I sprained my ankle in the fall, so I had to take some time off to recover. While I was out, I kept imagining everyone replaying that moment in their minds, and I worried about...Read more