ArcaMax

Dear Eric: I sent an out-of-town relative a Sympathy Box from Amazon when her husband died and never received a thank you. I know she got it because I saw the picture on her porch.

She’s the kind of person that knows the rules of etiquette. Should I email/text her to ask if she received it, or let it go? If I ask, how do I do it politely?

�...Read more

Dear Eric: I have two friends with whom I frequently engage in trekking; we always have great chats and fun. But I noticed when offering an invitation to come stay in our holiday home, approximately two hours’ drive away, the replies were quite muted or passive but polite. Responding with their absence of enthusiasm left the moment “hanging....Read more

Dear Eric: A close family member who was a beloved community member died unexpectedly on my birthday several years ago. People reach out to remember him on my birthday but don’t remember that it’s my birthday too.

I will never forget that he died on my birthday, and I appreciate how much he meant to people, but it makes me sad.

I wish ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a wonderful, spiritual family friend who I have known for more than 20 years. I value her friendship, but she has always been very materialistic and continuously lives through her children and their successes.

I am always supporting her and love her and her family but there are times when she picks a nerve with me because of ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am questioning my decision on whether to go to my brother’s daughter‘s wedding. They live two states away, and I have not seen them for a few years. I love my brother, but I don’t respect or agree with his political choices and views. Except now it feels more like a moral issue because of what is going on currently in our ...Read more

Dear Eric: My very overprotective daughters are concerned about somebody I met on a website. We would like to hang around other women who have our political beliefs. The area I live in generally does the opposite, politically, of what the two of us want. So, I was very eager to get together maybe for lunch and talk about our families, jobs, ...Read more

Dear Eric: My very overprotective daughters are concerned about somebody I met on a website. We would like to hang around other women who have our political beliefs. The area I live in generally does the opposite, politically, of what the two of us want. So, I was very eager to get together maybe for lunch and talk about our families, jobs, ...Read more

Dear Eric: One of my oldest friends, Dee, has an 18-year-old daughter, Angie, who recently moved in with her aunt and uncle because she and Dee just could not get along.

Dee labeled Angie as depressed, bipolar, lacking empathy, narcissistic, et cetera.

Meanwhile Angie is class president, has won a full scholarship to college, stars in the ...Read more

Dear Eric: My fiancé and I have been together for a little over a year. When we first got together, he was employed and seemed to have everything together. He owns his house but has people living there for free.

Then he was laid off. Now he doesn't work, gets disability of which he pays only $600 toward the $1,240 rent payment. I pay utilities...Read more

Dear Eric: Our 30-year-old son moved back in with us two years ago, unemployed and not seriously looking for employment. We insisted that he get a job. While he still goes to work every day, he hates this job and appears to be slipping into depression. He sleeps a lot, barely communicates with us, has almost no social life and shows little ...Read more

Dear Eric: A year ago, I had to have a procedure for a brain tumor. A very scary emotional roller coaster event. My best friend of 42 years, said, “Don’t worry; I will be with you every step of the way.”

When the date and time were finally provided, I told her we have to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. Her response was “I can’t go ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am 61 years old and work in a law firm where I have a billable hours requirement. One coworker is a couple years older than I am, and the supervisor and two other employees are close in age (20s/30s).

The older coworker is treated like a princess because she is very assertive and has top seniority in the office. She wears the pants...Read more

Dear Eric: We are four couples, everyone in the group except me has the same birth year. For their 60th 10 years ago, we planned a trip together and had a great time.

My husband and one of the men are cousins. As the years passed, his cousin wanted to remain close and wanted to get together at least once a month. Sometimes one of the other ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a variety of orthopedic issues, some chronic and some temporary. I use a cane, a walker or a wheelchair when I'm out of the house, depending on how I feel that day, or what sort of activity I'm planning to take part in.

Now that I've reached a certain age, I interact a lot with people who are getting new hips and knees. They ...Read more

Dear Eric: My 87-year-old mother has pancreatic cancer. My husband and I moved out of state to live with her for four months while she went through radiation and enough of the recovery for her to live independently.

Her cancer is back after about a six-month reprieve. The doctors have said she cannot have more treatments due to health and age. ...Read more

Dear Eric: I have a good friend of more than 30 years who has two teenage sons. One son is friendly and welcoming whenever we go to their home or when he comes to ours. Her other teenage son is oftentimes rude and incommunicative.

For example, we recently went to their home, and her son wore his headphones the entire time. He came in, ate, and ...Read more

Dear Eric: After more than a year together, my boyfriend and I are planning to move in together with his brother. Originally, I was planning to move away since I'm graduating college and received some very cool opportunities, but after meeting him I was willing to put my career aspirations on hold in order to see where our relationship would go....Read more

Dear Eric: My mother-in-law and father-in-law won two prizes in a raffle one Christmas. We were shown these prizes. Twelve months later, we traveled 2,500 miles to visit them for Christmas again. On Christmas morning, my husband and I received these raffle prizes for Christmas presents. We don't believe they had forgotten that they had shown us ...Read more

Dear Eric: I am a recently retired woman who is appreciating my morning routine at the gym. I love the group exercise classes. My issue is with one woman who insists on counting very loudly with the instructor, slipping in loud singing with the music and thinking she is entertaining during class.

She does it during every class twice a week. The...Read more

Dear Eric: My girlfriend (30) and I (35) can’t seem to agree about this one thing. She’s friendly with her male neighbor in her apartment building. They don’t go to each other’s apartments, but they’ll say hi in the halls and chat. I don’t like this. I’ve asked her to stop and she won’t. Am I wrong?

– One-woman Man

Dear Man: ...Read more