Dear Carolyn: I’m married to a kind, funny, cute man with an Ivy League Ph.D. We have two thriving young children and two thriving, demanding careers. I do all the planning of our lives. Children’s playdates, their afterschool and summer activities, booking child care, birthday parties, date nights, social plans with friends, vacations and travel, …
Hi, Carolyn: Recently my daughter and son-in-law were staying at my home. My husband was away. After an enjoyable evening out, we came home and had more wine. My daughter and their baby went to bed while my son-in-law and I stayed up chatting. At one point he said, “You look pretty cute, why don’t …
Dear Carolyn: My boyfriend of three years recently cheated on me, broke up with me through an email, and then ghosted me. I know I should be glad to be rid of him, but I loved him. I’m trying my best to go on without him. Before and during our relationship I was very good …
Dear Carolyn: My marriage of 25 years is coming to an amicable end. I’m very depressed, but not about that — it’s because I feel like I’ve spent my whole life looking for a soul mate, unsuccessfully. I’m fearful that at my age, if I haven’t found someone by now, I never will. My friends …
Dear Carolyn: My fiancé and I are planning a Hawaii wedding. We’re from the East Coast. We would love for all of our family to make the wedding, but we understand some of our family and friends won’t be able to make it. I have an aunt who is notorious for influencing others to make …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: We have a bunch of little girls in our neighborhood who play with ours. One of them sometimes comes up to me, and asks, “Don’t I look pretty?” What do you think is the best thing to say? I usually say something like, “What a fancy dress,” …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: This tendency younger people have to post their entire life on social media is causing quite a problem in my family. Since this is a second marriage for both and we were in our 40s at the time, my husband, “Dan,” and I have a policy for …
Dear Carolyn: I am struggling to balance my husband’s relationship with my family. My family adores him and wants to spend time with him. He acts fine with them, but is grumpy and angry with me. My husband is an introvert. I respect his needs and only ask him to attend a few family events …
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I can’t seem to get out of this pit of negativity about myself. I only hear the negatives people say about me; for example, I had a huge presentation at work, got several genuine compliments, and all I heard was one person’s very mild criticism that I …
Hi, Carolyn: My mother-in-law has very unkind things to say about my ex-sister-in-law, and, as a woman, I deplore how my brother-in-law handled his divorce. I am really struggling with my relationship with her. I just don’t trust her. I can’t help but feel if I were in the ex-sister-in-law’s shoes, she would be talking …
