Dear Abby
Tween gets embarrassed by mother
Dear Abby: I am an 11-year-old girl who loves going shopping and doing various stuff with my mom. But when we go to the mall or stop for lunch and she hears a song she likes, she’ll start singing to it. And if we’re standing up, she even dances to it a little. I have tried telling her to stop because she’s embarrassing me, but all she says is, “No one is looking, honey.” She also does it at home in front of my friends when I play my iPod. Any suggestions? (Updated: 11/21/09 6:44 AM )
Keep looking for ‘the one’
Dear Abby: I’m 32 and a “large girl.” I am also intelligent, witty and fun to be around. I make friends wherever I go. The problem is my mother—who is also big—keeps telling me that heavy women are not desirable and we must “settle” when it comes to choosing a mate. (Updated: 11/20/09 6:49 AM )
Friends offer each other comfort
Dear Abby: Is there anything wrong with having a lover solely for the purpose of sex? He is grieving for his late wife (my best friend), and I am separated from my husband. We’re both lonely and have supported each other through our pain. A few weeks ago we decided to become lovers. (Updated: 11/19/09 7:08 AM )
Guidance for writing letters
Dear Abby: Please don’t think I’m stupid for asking this, but I need some help. The practice of letter-writing appears to be a dying form because of e-mail andtexting— which I’m good at. But when I receive a nice gift, I know the proper way to acknowledge it is to write a thank-you letter. Can you please tell me how to do one that doesn’t come across as awkward? Christmas is coming and this is hard for me. When I try to get my thoughts down on paper, I am... (Updated: 11/18/09 7:29 AM )
Either way, happiness trumps age
Dear Abby: In your response to the letter from “Cougar in New York” (Sept. 3), you invited your male readers to share their thoughts. Abby, cougars are nothing new. They’re simply out of the closet. (Updated: 11/17/09 6:48 AM )
Dear Abby: Bedroom becomes battleground
Dear Abby: My wife of 25 years, in an effort to get me to stop smoking, refuses to have sex until I quit. It’s been more than a year since we made love. (Updated: 11/16/09 7:46 AM )
Follow kindness by passing it on
Dear Abby: On a Sunday in late September, I got hopelessly lost trying to find O’Hare Airport in Chicago. I pulled off the interstate at a neighborhood exit and asked a man parked at the curb for directions. He was Hispanic, and there was a bit of a language barrier, but he and his sister offered to lead me there. (Updated: 11/16/09 9:43 AM )
Hold firm vs. peer pressure
Dear Abby: I’m a 14-year-old boy. I went to a party last weekend and some people pressured me to do some uncomfortable stuff. Can you advise me how to handle peer pressure? (Updated: 11/14/09 8:07 AM )
Dear Abby: Please mind your own business
Dear Abby: My neighbors, “John” and “Marcia,” are such a nice couple, I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know them all that well, but what’s going on is extremely upsetting. On several occasions, I have seen a woman park her car near my home after dark and walk to the back door of their house. About an hour later, I see John let her out the front door. He even has the nerve to kiss her goodbye right on the front porch! I want to tell Marcia what’s going on, but I’m unsure how to go about it. What’s the right way to let someone know that her husband is cheating on her? (Updated: 11/13/09 8:17 AM )
Dear Abby: Good doctors don’t rush patients
Dear Abby: May I respond to your column regarding excessive waits in doctors’ offices? I am a board-certified interventional cardiologist who has been practicing for 30 years. I work 85 to 90 hours each week. As hard as we try, our office schedule often falls behind. Despite recommendations that acute problems go to the emergency room, unscheduled patients come to the office with chest pains, and they must be attended to. Even scheduled patients can develop complex medical issues that require extra, unplanned time to evaluate and treat. (Updated: 11/12/09 8:24 AM )
Dear Abby: Wives have the right to say ‘no’
Dear Abby: I am a 38-year-old business woman. I was single for many years until I met and fell in love with “Rory,” who had been a longtime client. We were married a year ago. Rory and I love each other, but we have a problem—or, should I say, I have one. Rory has a penile implant and an insatiable sex drive. I can’t keep up with him. He demands sex every night and sometimes a couple of times during the week at lunchtime. I don’t know what to do because I don’t want to hurt my husband’s feelings. Have you any advice for me? (Updated: 11/11/09 8:37 AM )
Dear Abby: Man’s wife, friend are too close
Dear Abby: My wife, “Paula,” and I have a friend I’ll call “Mark.” I recently learned that before our wedding, Mark made a pass at Paula. Paula told him she wasn’t interested. I also found out that Paula kissed Mark while we were having some difficulties during the past couple of years. But when Mark and his wife worked things out, he told Paula the behavior had to end. When I ask my wife about these things, she’s honest and tells me what happened. I try to keep an open mind and get past it, but haven’t been able to. (Updated: 11/10/09 8:11 AM )
Dear Abby; Time to end bathroom bonding
Dear Abby: I need an unbiased opinion. I am the father of a 12-year-old daughter, “Lia.” She catches an early morning bus for school, and I leave for work at the same time her bus picks her up, so I’m in charge of getting her ready in the morning. (Updated: 11/09/09 7:56 AM )
Taxi helped aging driver get around
Dear Abby: Several years ago, I realized that my mother’s eyesight and reflexes weren’t what they once were, but she insisted on remaining behind the wheel. She was afraid of losing her independence if she gave up driving. Then she had a traffic accident that shook her enough to make her finally relinquish her keys, but she wasn’t happy about it. (Updated: 11/08/09 8:28 AM )
Past lies can haunt present
Dear Abby: I am a 16-year-old guy in my sophomore year of high school. I am known as a friendly, outgoing guy who gets along with girls. My problem is, I used to be one of the biggest jerks who ever was. I was involved in fighting and other things I won’t go into. But I turned my life around. (Updated: 11/07/09 8:38 AM )