ArcaMax

Dear Eric: My sister suffers from alcoholism and drug addiction from way back. I am the exact opposite of her in almost every way – rarely drink, never do drugs. She perceives me to be a “goody-two-shoes,” and I was given a nickname of “miss maturity” by her and other siblings. It was not a positive nickname.

She is my only sister. I ...Read more

Dear Eric: I’m married with four kids and have a sizable extended family. One son, who is in seventh grade, runs track and finished the season with personal records in his events, which also happen to place second in his school’s all-time best records.

I sent out a family text to all of our extended family raving about his achievements. ...Read more

Dear Eric: Via complete happenstance I have recently become aware of my oldest friend's death about a year ago. Mary and I grew up across the street from one another in the ’60s and ’70s. I played with her and with her older brother as kids, and our families were close.

She had been my friend for about 60 years.

I have been desperate to ...Read more

Dear Eric: We live in the same town as my son's family. He and his wife have two little boys. Our daughter-in-law's parents have many nice homes, including a local condo.

Her mother takes charge and makes plans for every holiday unless she's traveling. And we are never invited, despite our invites to them whenever we've squeezed in some plans. ...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and I have been estranged from our 17-year-old granddaughter for eight years. We were loving, supportive grandparents but after the mother of our granddaughter broke up with our son, the father, she stopped our granddaughter from seeing us as well.

For eight years, I have tried to keep contact with our granddaughter with ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am planning a getaway with my best friend from grade school. We live in different parts of the United States but keep in touch and see each other when we can. We want to celebrate each of us turning 60 this year by going to a Caribbean destination for a few days. My husband of more than 30 years is not a beach person, so he’s glad...Read more

Dear Eric: Since retiring, some friends have put together a band. I went to one of their gigs a couple years ago, and recently a practice session.

They would clearly like me to go to more, or all, of their gigs. The gigs are typically at night, an hour from where I live. I am a morning person. After years of commuting, I am happy to drive as ...Read more

Dear Eric: My daughter Tess turned 40 years old last month. Hard to believe how time flies. My husband and I took her and her husband, Mack, and two children out for dinner on her birthday as we always do every year. A few weeks before this, Mack asked my husband if we would babysit on a day after the birthday dinner. My husband told me that ...Read more

Dear Eric: A friend of mine is a lovely woman, and a real animal lover. The problem is that she lives near some woods and feeds the wild animals that come to her yard. I'm not talking about just putting out a bird feeder, but she feeds opossums, raccoons, deer and other creatures, and gets a lot of pleasure out of doing so. It is not recommended...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband has a rocky past with his family. He is close with one sister and doesn't enjoy being with the other ("Lisa"), especially since she started dating (now married) a guy that is very awkward and makes our family get-togethers much less fun.

Additionally, their mother "Betsy" has been cut out of our lives, but not Lisa's. ...Read more

Dear Eric: We live in big city where houses are very close together. My neighbors keep their trash bins in the driveway close to my front and side doors. They have three dogs, and the bin banging begins early, sometimes before seven in the morning.

My living room and kitchen are right next to their driveway, so I hear banging from trash lids ...Read more

Dear Eric: An old high school girlfriend of my husband's (more than 40 years) creates social media posts about him and tags him, including photos of him or of the two of them together. In my husband’s defense, he has always responded or reacted appropriately with only a short neutral comment or reaction.

On our shared desktop one day, I was ...Read more

Dear Eric: My partner and I (35 years) are fortunate to have multiple residences. We have always “lived together apart.” It’s unconventional, but it works for us. My primary residence is in a large urban condominium building and his is rural in a small town. We’re always together on weekends (we alternate the destination) but apart ...Read more

Dear Eric: Twenty-six years ago, my mother worked with a married woman who was pregnant with her fourth child but couldn't afford to add another child to her family. My sister and husband had a son and wanted a daughter. My mom arranged for the two women to meet, and my sister adopted the baby.

For some reason, unbeknownst to the rest of the ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a single, recent college graduate whose parents have just gone through a very nasty divorce. As much as I love them both, there is a "bad guy" in the whole situation, and it is clearly my mother. She is a successful doctor and was always the primary breadwinner for our family, while my dad has been a stay-at-home dad.

After my ...Read more

Dear Eric: I own a nice home with a pool. I have friends that often call me to ask me if I want to go lay out in the backyard or sometimes, they’ll just call and ask if they can come over to use the pool. My issue is when I have people over, I feel obligated to entertain. Even though I know I don’t need to feel obligated, and they don’t ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a married man in my 60s and a recovering alcoholic. I have been sober for eight months. Prior to rehab I put my wonderful wife through hell for years. Not physically, but emotionally with my constant drunkenness. I am now in a great place, feeling and looking as good as ever, engaged and productive. Unfortunately, my wife is ...Read more

Dear Eric: Several years ago, my mother-in-law passed away due to dementia. During the time of her illness, my husband and I took care of everything, including selling her house, auctioning off her estate, dealing with her boyfriend who could never admit she had dementia, and dealing with the COVID restrictions for visiting her. Of note, my ...Read more

Dear Eric: I was a latch-key kid in the ’70s, no father, working mom of three kids. No one was ever there to read me a story, watch me make a basket or catch a ball. I now have a 7-year-old girl. I thrive watching her in her weekly two-hour gym class and Girl Scout meetings, where I am a troop leader. I see most parents focused on their ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been friends with "Bill" for more than 25 years. When the fire started in the Pacific Palisades, we had to evacuate our home. My wife and I went to one friend's condo for two nights, then to another couple's house for four nights and then we went to Bill and his wife's guest house, which is separate from the main house.

We ...Read more