Columns

I’m 23 and moved back to my home state a year ago. My mother died when I was 14, and my dad (who adopted me when I was four and took care of me after my mom died but is not my biological father) won’t give me the key to the house to get my belongings he held for me when I moved out of state. He also will not give me some things that belonged to my mother (wedding dress, veil, her wedding rings, etc.). He is engaged to be married early next year. His fiancée has four kids who live at home. He doesn’t make time for me and would…

In my small group of friends three of the gals have great jobs with lucrative careers. My other friend, Julie, and I are usually the ones struggling. Julie’s younger and just starting out and I have a mortgage and am a single mother who gets no financial support from my ex-husband. Our group of friends has always found a way to meet in the middle and enjoy our time together. A few months ago I began doing some consulting work on the side and my financial situation has improved drastically. I now have money to plan a vacation, buy concert tickets, and go out for nicer meals. For the most part though,…

I moved in with my girlfriend months ago, but four years after her divorce, she still has a lot of her ex-husband’s things in her home and it makes me uncomfortable. His clothes are still here, wedding rings are still out in the open, and their pictures, though off the walls, are lying around everywhere. I got rid of all that kind of stuff from my marriage before deciding to date again, let alone move in with another person, and I figured this stuff of hers would have been long ago packed away and even then gone through when she asked me to move in. However, she has moved none of his…

“I’ve always loved children and since we since we never had any, I’ve always prioritized my nieces and nephews and figured I’d attend all their weddings… “

My husband and I have been together for thirteen years and married for five. We have two children together. I’m 37 and he is 44. Due to strong disagreements and abuse within our relationship, we are getting a divorce. This past summer, he got into a fight and he threw his wedding ring across the road onto the shoulder. My kids and I went to my parents’ and stayed for about two months. When we came back, I saw the ring lying on the end table. I’m very curious as to why he would keep it. I’m grateful as I have always wanted to keep it for our daughter, but I don’t…

I recently had family visit for a few days for Thanksgiving and they plan to visit again for Christmas. I love having them visit, but there’s an issue that has me dreading the next visit: my brother stinks. We have guests take off their shoes when they enter our home and the smell when he takes off his shoes is overwhelming and fills the whole house. For the last few visits, I’ve had him leave his shoes and socks outside, which helps a little. I usually open doors and windows to get rid of the smell, but that’s not always possible depending on the weather. He usually showers soon after getting to…

“I met my ex-wife when I was 14 (I am now 40) and we became a couple that year. Ten years later, our relationship stalled…”