ArcaMax

Dear Eric: My daughter is in a committed relationship with a partner. My daughter insists that she will never get married. They bought a house and have a child together. We live nearby and see them often, providing backup childcare as needed. They both have good jobs.

Their money is separate. They pay for things separately and have elected to ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am the mother of a wild child. The other day, she ran into our house and asked for a Band-Aid because her friend scraped his knee. The boy had what I would describe as "the most gnarly gash" I've seen since I left the military.

The cut missed major blood vessels, but at least partially severed a tendon. We sent a messenger to his ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a tween age daughter (11) who used to be very sweet. Lately she has been very mouthy – always answers back and is rude, especially to me. I don’t know why she has changed so much. She has a younger brother and says I treat him better. I try to treat them the same. Any advice on how to handle this situation as I feel it�...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm a 64-year-old male and I have a 59-year-old girlfriend of a couple years. My perception is that my girlfriend is constantly seeking attention from other men. For instance, we were out on an ATV ride with another couple and a third man. Our ride brought us through many miles of back country. We stopped at a bar/restaurant to use ...Read more

Dear Eric: When my brother passed away many years ago, my sister-in-law kept the family photo album that belonged to him.

The family photos in my sister-in-law’s possession include many from my childhood and our larger family, as well as a few of her husband, my brother. I understand that these albums hold great sentimental value for her, and...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm not happy where we live and want to move to be closer to my family. My parents are in good health now, but I’m concerned I don’t have much time left with them. However, I know if I tell my husband my feelings in wanting to move it will devastate him because this is the first time in my husband's life that he's actually enjoyed...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a wonderful relationship with both of my adult children. My son is married with a family. My daughter is divorced with a teenage son, and I'm very concerned about her. She has had no luck dating because, I feel, she is attracted to the wrong kind of man (players).

She finally met a man of suitable age who, at first, seemed to...Read more

Dear Eric: After a lifetime of making bad choices in a husband and later boyfriends, I gladly embraced the single life and have been fully content and even joyful.

A few months ago, at age 70, I attended a dear friend’s memorial service. As I started to leave, I had a flash of connection as my eyes met those of my friend’s now-widower who I...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a friend who has moved several states away but comes back to visit at least once a year. She has many friends in this area, and I know she is busy trying to fit us all into her schedule. When she and I meet for lunch at a local higher end restaurant, we have a couple of drinks, and she always orders steak. We’ve been doing ...Read more

Dear Eric: I’m 81 years old and my husband is 84. We were comfortably retired until our 44-year-old daughter and 9-year-old granddaughter moved in with us a few weeks ago. Our daughter was evicted from her condo because her ex-husband stopped paying. (I don’t blame him.)

She’s a college graduate and hasn’t worked at a job in her field ...Read more

Dear Eric: My bestie is a modern-day pen pal. That is to say I know him on only social

media. But we've had so many fine chats over the last decade, until recently.

He lives in another country, where personal freedom is strongly protected. I recently told him how bad things are here in the US – not how bad they could be, but how bad they are...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and I have been married almost five years, and it has been wonderful. Six months ago, we had a major disruption when my 83-year-old father-in-law was diagnosed with dementia. He was admitted to hospice last week. We have no one to help with him, except for a sitter that is draining his wallet.

My husband and I have an 11-...Read more

Dear Eric: The short version is I caught my ex-wife in bed with someone when I was 26 years old. At the time I had 2-, 4-, and 6-year-old children. Two boys and one girl. I remarried at 30 years old and am now 64. I just found out through DNA testing that the three kids are not my children. They all have different dads. My ex is remarried and ...Read more

Dear Eric: I work in a small aquarium with a close friend of mine named Tom. Because my wife is in the late stages of pregnancy, I often take my youngest to the aquarium and leave her by the touch tanks while I work. This has caused some disputes between Tom and me, as he worries about leaving her unattended around the fish.

Both of my children...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a mid-70s, single gay man with no close family ties. I never imagined that anyone could or would want to love me. Even when they were right there, showing me how much they cared.

I did three months of therapy via zoom. It was helpful, but I was not able to admit to that therapist the emotional neglect that I had subjected my ...Read more

Dear Eric: Almost a year ago, my husband, “Bob,” bought a 17-year-old car with 200,000 miles on it from a neighbor, “Jane.” It was in bad shape but ran well.

Last week Bob bought a car with 100,000 miles on it. I put sale ads for the older car on a popular social media site that I know Jane is on, and an ad in the local paper which I ...Read more

Dear Eric: My sister, age 86, and I, 84, have two younger brothers, 77 and 74. We have all been invited to share Thanksgiving with one of my brothers and his wife. We siblings are spread out geographically and are not particularly close but not estranged either.

We all agree that “the girls” had a significantly different upbringing than “...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a friend I'll call "Sally.” She is in her mid-50s and is single with no kids. Both of her parents are deceased. Prior to her mother's death, she quit her job to care for her. Once she passed, Sally inherited most of her property, including her older van, condo and belongings.

She has sorted through her mother's belongings ...Read more

Dear Eric: I've been friends with a girl for at least 10 years. Recently she had a

birthday and our circle of friends planned on going to a local bar to celebrate. I decided not to attend because I wasn't able to afford a $10 cover charge. I told her that and she seemed to be OK with it.

But then I noticed that I wasn't hearing from her like I...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a longtime friend who, at 60, has entered the online dating world after the death of her husband four years ago. She has yet to meet the “right guy.”

She matches with men who are still married, looking for someone to support them, looking for sex only, and the list goes on. When she does have someone match with her on the ...Read more