Dear Carolyn: I would like for my husband and me to give my daughter, his stepdaughter, a lump sum toward a house down payment. She and her boyfriend, both 30, are hard workers, but she’s had a career of mainly temp jobs, without much cushion for savings. My husband feels uneasy about this because we’ve …
Dear Carolyn: Like other people who provide services to others in trouble, do you ever feel burned out? If you don’t, congratulations, but what do you advise to keep it at bay? — Burnout Sure, I’m susceptible. I do a few things: I take the vacation time I’m given. (Not all of it yet, but …
Dear Carolyn: My 22-year-old niece just told me she and her 35-year-old boyfriend are eloping next week. This is a relationship that has been deeply opposed by my niece’s parents for years. They object to the age difference and many other aspects they view as unsavory. My niece told me they are inviting only the …
Dear Carolyn: We have hit the age of the full-class invite to birthday parties. Yet, I am unlikely to throw a full-class party. Or maybe in a few years. Is it bad form for my kid to attend if it’s not a close friend and she didn’t invite/won’t be inviting the kid to her (very …
Dear Carolyn: Our son is in a serious relationship and I believe an engagement is in the offing. We like this young woman, but have reservations that I am struggling with. It’s clear our son spends a great deal of time and energy taking care of his girlfriend and making her feel secure and content, …
Hi, Carolyn: My wife and I have fought over whether I should be giving her open access to my personal email. I’ve had this account for at least twice as long as I’ve known her (going back 20-ish years) and we had a kind of cat-and-mouse type of situation where she would try to trick …
Dear Carolyn: When my wife and I got engaged 17 years ago, she was a healthy, cheerful, gainfully employed young lady. Two months after the engagement she stopped working entirely and hasn’t worked since except for the occasional part-time job, which she quits in a fit of pique after two months because she “doesn’t care …
Dear Carolyn: My mother and I have been having a “weight war” since I was a child and it’s growing old. As a child (older, mind you), I would walk into a room and she would look me up and down then angrily scoff at me, which was usually followed up with her telling me, …
Dear Carolyn: My longtime partner is in many ways a wonderful woman. I definitely will be her committed companion for as long as we both shall live. However, she is a total slob. While our living room is kept up fairly well, the bedroom looks as if a tornado has just come through. The bathroom …
Dear Carolyn: My girlfriend is 29. I’m happy in our relationship and think she’s awesome. However, in her past she had an affair with a 65-year-old married grandfather who was her career coach. She was friends with his family. I find this immoral and very hard to accept … and totally out of character for …
