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My sister has two young children. When the first one came, she seemed overwhelmed but managed with a lot of help from our mother. Now that the second has arrived she seems to have completely lost control. Her husband is a great father who loves my sister and adores the children. However, he has some shortcomings. His job situation is unstable and, while he tries to help around the house, he sometimes is a bit clueless and ends up messing things up more than helping. My sister has her faults too. She has a short temper and can be pretty demanding. Now, I know these things don’t seem that bad, but their…

I just found out my brother and his wife are expecting their second child. To give you some background on why this situation is not as normal as it sounds, last year (before they were married) they broke up because she was doing hard drugs and cheating on him. It was very messy. “Horrific” may be a better word. They already have one child together (my niece), who is 2 1/2 years old. After the breakup, my SIL moved in to a crack house, continued doing drugs, filed a domestic violence restraining order against my brother in an attempt to get custody (which the judge promptly dismissed), and tried to break in…

I am a 29-year-old woman who has found herself in a serious predicament. For the last four years I have not dated anyone due to how things turned out with the first man I loved. I decided to remain focused on raising my child and going to college to better myself so my son and I would have a more secure life. I am into gaming, and that is how I met this 18-year-old guy. There was something about him, and I could tell the first time we spoke that he is special. However, he was engaged to be married to another woman who was a year younger than I. Whatever happened…

New readers, welcome to Dear Wendy, a relationship advice blog. Read some of the most popular Dear Wendy posts here. If you don’t find the info you need in this column, please visit the Dear Wendy archives or the forums (you can even start your own thread), do a search in the search bar, or submit a question for advice at wendy(AT)dearwendy.com. My boyfriend shows me the exact same affection as he does his 16- and 18-year-old daughters. He said that even though the affection is the same, with me there is a sexual connection. When we are watching a movie on the couch, he’s rubbing my leg as well as theirs….

I’m a graduate student in the sciences who was asked to present my work at a conference last month. The nature of my research and that of my co-student, let’s call him “Twerp,” is somewhat similar, so the organizers asked us to combine abstracts to present together. Twerp is also a few months senior, and because only one “presenting author” is allowed, I let him take the title out of generosity even though I am an equal contributor to the work. We presented our work at a session where the presenting author answers the questions of scientists passing through for a few hours. The night before our session, knowing the world to…