ArcaMax

Dear Eric: I am having a hard time getting over an old fiancé from 2004 and the way this person went from "I can't live without you" for six years to turning on me viscously.

We never cursed at one another until one night in October. I was so crushed. I am with a wonderful man now. But I just cannot figure this out.

I can't and do not want to...Read more

Dear Eric: I'm mid-50s and I have three jobs (two part time as a college professor). I also have three grown children, a husband, my parents and many friends. I constantly get requests from co-workers and other friends for happy hours, dinners, brunches, workshops, seminars and other events.

As it is, I have a brutal work schedule of about 60 ...Read more

Dear Eric: I had a Mother’s Day card for my daughter, but needed her sons, ages 10 and 7 to sign it. Since I did not see them in time for Mother’s Day, I gave it to my daughter to give to them.

When I inquired about the card, my daughter’s husband said he had decided not to give the card because he had already done cards for her. He said,...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and I are retired. We have been married for 29 years. In the last several years he has refused to get rid of anything.

We downsized five years ago. During the move I was able to get him to donate some coats he could not wear but that was about all.

He was to go through the basement, work bench and garage. Unfortunately, ...Read more

Dear Eric: When hosting a party, what is the best way to ensure guests drive home safely if they have been drinking or are otherwise intoxicated?

– Safe Home

Dear Home: If a friend is impaired by alcohol or intoxicated, it’s imperative that they don’t get behind the wheel, full stop. Some methods for preventing this include taking their ...Read more

Dear Eric: Three years ago, I had a falling out with my cousin, Harris, at a family gathering. Harris, like me, is a retiree in his mid-60s. We have been friendly before this. Harris also has three siblings, and I am on great terms with all of them.

He confronted me about something I wrote in the family gathering’s logbook that he found ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been widowed for almost three years now. About a year ago, I began dating a guy significantly younger than me. Prior to our romantic involvement, we were close platonic friends for more than a decade, and he was in fact a close friend of my late husband.

We communicated well and thoroughly discussed the effects that dating may...Read more

Dear Eric: A close friend of 50 years has always gone out of her way, both in word and deed, to agree with my political views. She has participated enthusiastically in many advocacy events I have promoted. She has even gone so far as to express that her husband feels differently and that his views upset her so much, she might even leave him.

I ...Read more

Dear Eric: I lost my husband two years ago after a long, drawn-out decline. It was a traumatic ending.

Our son, now in his late 40s, was indifferent to his father’s decline. Our son has always been a challenge. Difficult teenage years with lots of poor decisions and rebellious behavior. He did not want to be a part of our family and has ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been undergoing tests to confirm a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and all the signs are pointing in that direction. While I navigate the medical system, test results and diagnosis, I am faced with the challenge of telling people about all of this.

I have three grown daughters who are relatively settled in life. I would like to...Read more

Dear Eric: My boyfriend has a second home in Florida where we stay three to four months a year. He pays "Marcus", a neighbor, to look in on the house and drive the car when we're not there.

Marcus has had issues with the car. One year, he apparently drove the car without gas and caused significant damage. The car is ancient, we could not prove ...Read more

Dear Eric: A family member chose to enlist in the Marines. A party was held for him. Everybody was asked to give cash, so he’d have what he needed while in basic training.

Less than 24 hours later we were told he changed his mind and decided not to enlist which thrilled everyone.

We were told that now the party was for his high school ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a 63-year-old friend who is miserable. She’s working a job she hates, doesn’t go out much and has no pension. She is always broke, her car is about to die and she’s talking about wanting to retire soon. The only thing she has is Social Security and half her ex-husband’s pension.

She blew her retirement by being scammed...Read more

Dear Eric: Last year I fell and fractured my wrist and was in quite a bit of pain while healing. Then again, this summer, I fell even harder and broke the same wrist and my forearm along with a fracture of the other arm. Yes, I guess I'm clumsy. I'm in my 50s and in decent shape so I'm not frail but it was taking a mental toll on me for months ...Read more

Dear Eric: Eighteen years ago, I got into a relationship with someone who was separated from his wife. He was upfront about never wanting to remarry, but in no hurry to get divorced either. To this day, she lives in the house that he had built.

It does upset me that they text every day or talk several times a week. He's always paid for ...Read more

Dear Eric: My sister divorced her husband over three years ago and had the man she had been having an affair with move into her married home roughly a year after the divorce.

This man swears in front of my nephew. He's made comments about hitting my sister if she did or said something he'd disliked. He constantly makes belittling or offensive ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have two adult children; they both are married and live in different states away from me. I worked very hard to be a good and loving parent and, after a divorce that I did not want, I struggled a lot emotionally. The children lost their home and so did I.

I have been on excellent terms with my children. This year my daughter told ...Read more

Dear Eric: A good friend of 30 years lashed out at me. During a group dinner she announced that she was going to apply for a restraining order against someone who has been harassing and stalking her. Once a week I play volleyball with that person. The person sometimes tries to talk to me about my good friend. I tell that person not to do that, ...Read more

Dear Eric: How can I lovingly set boundaries with an aging, widowed and childless aunt who is seeking more connection but whose long-standing self-centered behavior – dominating conversations, disregarding others’ needs, and making unrealistic emotional demands – has exhausted much of the extended family?

In the last decade I’ve been ...Read more

Dear Eric: My wife and I have been married a little over three years and have known each other for more than six years. This is a blended family, and my wife has a 22-year-old recent college grad, and a 27-year-old alcoholic son from her first marriage. This is my first marriage.

Presently we are at an impasse in our marriage. My wife cannot ...Read more