ArcaMax

Dear Eric: I've been taking yoga classes for at least eight years from a woman who teaches a small group in her yard. I'm friendly with most of the students in the class, but the instructor apparently doesn't like "the cut of my jib."

Example: She singled me out in class one time, saying I looked like "someone's mom in the '70s doing yoga." For...Read more

Dear Eric: Several months ago, I discovered my husband was having an emotional affair with a coworker. He shared significant things with her he didn’t share with me, sought her advice on how to hide his alcohol abuse from me and talked to her about our arguments, while she fueled the negativity against me and trashed me. He also discussed ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been married to a wonderful woman for many years. She is educated and has many years of practical experience. But if there is anything that makes me “bite the bullet” it’s her interruptions mid-delivery from me. I have dared to call her out for interrupting me and she will say I'm taking too long to make a point, even in ...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband passed away 12 days ago after an extended illness. I have two step-kids.

Two days after my husband died, one of the kids started asking for some of my husband’s belongings then unveiled his plan to “help me build a house” on some vacant land I own to “fulfill my husband's dream.” I was taken aback. I told him I ...Read more

Dear Eric: I've been married to a great guy for the better part of 30 years. We are empty nesters, and during Covid-19, I agreed to help my male cousin who became homeless.

I knew my husband wasn't wild about the idea, but he didn't fuss about it, so we let him move in. Fast-forward five years: he’s still living with us.

I figured I...Read more

Dear Eric: My friend has a particularly troubling habit.

When we go out to eat with someone else, after we finish eating and are just sitting around talking, she, without fail, will suddenly announce she’s got to go and jumps up and leaves almost immediately.

When it’s just the two of us out to eat together, this never happens. Not once.

...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a problem that seems to be getting worse with time. Our son is married and very happy. He lives in another state from us so it is always a quick visit to see each other, which happens usually twice a year.

The problem is my husband and I really don’t enjoy our visits. They’ve become very stressful. Time with a grown child ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a kind, retired neighbor who I infrequently see, but who is always warm and friendly when we cross paths. Nearly a month ago, my wife received a sympathy card from her expressing condolences on my passing, appreciation for what a good neighbor I was and hoping that my memory would be a blessing.

It was a lovely card, but as ...Read more

Dear Eric: I’m conflicted about whether or not to invite my sister to my son’s wedding.

My sister and I have never been close. She was never very kind to, nor interested in, my son, my husband or me. We’ve had entire decades of silence while she lived a relatively chaotic life. She’s divorced, estranged from her adult children and her ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a friend I have known since third grade. She lives in another state. Recently, I went on a trip with three of my other friends in the state where this friend lives. She is a very good friend but quite opinionated and comes on a bit strong.

Since we were close by, she asked if she could join us. I felt uncomfortable asking my ...Read more

Dear Eric: My friend and I are in our mid-70s. We participate in several activities together – a book club, a continuing education class, et cetera. We often carpool together. I have begun to be very alarmed about my friend’s driving habits. She brakes unexpectedly, veers across the center line and seems quite distracted. I’m more and more...Read more

Dear Eric: I was diagnosed some years ago with Alzheimer's. My husband of 45 or so years is wonderful but even he and many of my friends do not understand that I no longer have choices. I know they all mean well, but I have always been a very social person. I love to sing, having taken two years of voice lessons. I love to dance and watch movies...Read more

Dear Eric: Last August, my husband and I told his niece that we would help with her daughter’s college expenses. We sent $2,000 to the college for the first semester. We received a thank-you text from his niece but nothing from the student. We eventually told the grandmother, my husband’s sister, that we expected something from the student ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have been diagnosed with a terminal disease (ya, it's lousy) and my outlook is just a year or so. I have let very few people know. Most are very sympathetic and supportive, but a couple have totally withdrawn. Should I try to connect with them? Or just let it go?

I mean, there's nothing that anyone can do, but it seems like a kind ...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband has been having an affair with a neighbor two doors down. Not only have I caught them multiple times, but I also confronted both separately, and recorded video and audio after telling them I would.

He said he wanted to take a polygraph; he failed on every question, on two separate polygraphs by two separate companies.

I�...Read more

Dear Eric: When my wife and I updated our wills, she designated a diamond tennis bracelet and diamond stud earrings to her niece (she had no biological children of her own). Later that month my wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to which she would succumb 19 months later. My daughter (my wife’s stepdaughter) is a radiation oncologist ...Read more

Dear Eric: My wife recently passed away and I am doing OK. Several of my wife's senior children keep wanting to come and visit me. How do I politely say no without hurting their feelings? When they have come before, I was stressed as to how to entertain them for a week. They think I am being helped by their visit but actually I would prefer ...Read more

Dear Eric: My 30-year-old son is severely physically disabled due to a debilitating muscle disease. He requires 100 percent assistance with all life functions. He does not have any cognitive disabilities, is very intelligent and earned a bachelor's degree. My husband retired a couple of years ago and is his main caregiver.

People who are ...Read more

Dear Eric: My dad passed away three years ago. He lived about 10 hours away from me but near my sister.

Sis and Dad have always been close. I had an OK relationship with both of them, though she and I have never been close. She took on most of his care and I tried to visit a few times a year.

Dad had a paid-off house worth about $250,000. To ...Read more

Dear Eric: My husband and his siblings inherited a home. My daughter offered to move her family into one of the apartments and take care of the property. We decided on a figure that would cover the bills in the form of rent.

Several years ago, she began withholding rent, she would only pay when I would ask for additional money due to a large ...Read more