ArcaMax

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter is going to be a senior in high school next year, so my husband and I have started talking about colleges. She told us that she wants to go to college abroad in London. Her dad and I donÕt like this idea at all because sheÕll be so far away from us. We live in California and couldnÕt stand the fact that she wonÕt ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When shopping for clothes, perfect strangers will offer their opinions and show me clothes that they have picked out for me, when no request for their help has been made.

I know that they are doing this to be kind, but I know exactly what I want to buy, so why do people do this? How can I respond to their offers of assistance...Read more

Dear Annie: I moved 600 miles away from my hometown 40 years ago, but keeping up a relationship with my parents (who've since passed) and my four siblings was always important to me. Family was paramount to my mother, and she instilled that same value in me.

I traveled back home countless times, eventually with my husband and two children, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My 29-year-old son, "Earl," has an MBA. He started drinking and doing drugs at the age of 16. Earl is highly intelligent, and he successfully hid his addiction from me. When I realized its existence, just before he left for college, it was too late for me to do anything. I offered to send him to rehab, but he refused.

I am a single ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: One of my closest friends has been in an off-and-on relationship with someone I don't think is the best for them. I do not often give my opinion on my friendsÕ partners, as it is not my place to critique their relationships, but I have seen this person make my friend feel awful on one too many occasions for me to be OK with ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I sometimes get a coffee to go from a local shop, and I stop at the little station to add sugar, cream, etc. to my cup. As at most coffeeshops, this station is pretty small.

If someone is there, I usually ask something such as, "Would I be in your way if I reached for some sugar?" Other times I just wait for the person to ...Read more

Dear Annie: I recently introduced my 62-year-old husband to emojis, and now I fear I've made a huge mistake. Every text I receive -- whether it's "Pick up milk" or "Your sister called" -- is followed by a winking face, a heart and, inexplicably, a rocket ship. He signs grocery lists with smiley faces. He even sent our plumber three ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married 44 years and have always slept in the same bed with my wife. Last week, I caught a virus, and we decided that I would sleep in the spare bedroom until it was gone. I have now discovered I sleep better by myself, and I enjoy the freedom of the bed. How do I tell my wife I'd prefer sleeping alone? I love her to death...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: There's a guy I like. We've spent time around each other in group settings, and he seems like someone worth exploring. There's chemistry between us; we flirt often, but part of me is afraid to cross the line. The complication is that we have a mutual friend who can be incredibly nosy and invasive. This friend has a habit of ...Read more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A student at my child's high school died from suicide at the very end of the last school year. The young man was a popular baseball player on the school's team, and he was from a socially popular family in my neighborhood.

There were multiple tributes to him made by well-meaning members of the community: Green ribbons were ...Read more

Dear Annie: My neighbor has taken "borrowing a cup of sugar" to ridiculous levels. In the past six months, she's borrowed my ladder, my hedge clippers, two baking pans and, most recently, my patio chairs for her daughter's graduation party. She always promises to return things "tomorrow," but I usually have to go ask, and sometimes they come ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My husband, "Al," and I are retired and live on a farm with a great son and daughter-in-law. Al is the best person I have ever known, and he adores me. Everyone loves and respects him, and they seek his friendship, approval and advice, which is usually right. He's a rarity. Our son "Trent" and his wife idolize him.

My issue? When ...Read more

Linking yourself to the community is the next step in widening your circle of connectedness. By joining a voluntary organization or international agency (whichever seems more important to you and seems to need you more), by manning a hotline for a battered women's shelter or by helping to organize an international fast day to raise awareness of ...Read more

DEAR HARRIETTE: Yesterday, I went to Target to do some shopping. I paid the cashier in cash, and instead of giving me $2 in change, she gave me $200. I usually don't check my change, especially when it's supposed to be such a small amount, so I didn't realize until I was already back home that I was given the wrong change back. I don't live very...Read more