Columns

My sister was nine years older than I and suffered from schizophrenia. I’m 78, so she became sick in the 1950s when the disease was not understood. She died in 2010. A cousin recently sent me a picture of her when she was a young child and I was so surprised to see this picture. She was truly such a beautiful child! Who would have known, as she became sick at about 18 years. I have been thinking of sending this photo of her to be placed in our local newspaper as a remembrance to her this June, as she died in June, and saying: “In remembrance of a beautiful mind. From…

I’ve been married for a year and a half to a wonderful man who has two great teenagers, a boy (“Tom”) and a girl (“Lucy”), now 18 and 16 respectively. I’ve been a part of their lives for the last four years or so. Their parents had split custody up until late last year, but now Lucy lives with us full time (Tom still goes back and forth between parents). Their parents live only a few blocks from each other. Tom just graduated from high school and will be going to college this fall, about an hour away. He decided he wants to live at home to save money on dorms and…

It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in just a few sentences because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great that being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go. I have met a wonderful guy who, on our first date, explained to me that he was still married and had two kids by another woman. We have been together for four years now and we have a daughter together. He hasn’t been able to get a divorce yet because of financial reasons (not enough money), but they have been separated…

Two quickies, one column this morning. Read on: My ex-boyfriend and I broke up five years ago because of infidelity, lies, and immaturity (we were college sweethearts). Plus, he left for the Air Force and asked me to wait for him, just for him to come back and tell me he didn’t want to be with me anymore. He recently found me on Facebook and we’ve been talking since. He says he’s a “changed man,” and I do see a lot of maturity. He wants to try “us” out again and says that he never stopped loving me. I must admit, I never stopped loving him either. The problem now is, his…

My boyfriend’s daughter is getting married this weekend and I am not invited to the wedding. I met the bride — let’s call her “Susie” — when she was 9. Years later, her father and I, who were always close, became a couple and now have lived together almost two years. “My Boyfriend Treats His Daughter Like SHE is His Girlfriend” Susie has insisted for years that I’m “not good for him” despite not seeing me since her parents separated. When she announced her engagement to her dad, she also informed him that I wouldn’t be invited. The wedding is in another state and, while I thought about joining him for the…

Today is a very special day in the Condellberry household — Miles turns 10! It was just under four years ago, when Miles was six and I was eight months pregnant with Jackson, that Miles suddenly — like over the course of a few hours — got very sick (from complications of his just-diagnosed diabetes) and almost died. But he beat the odds and survived, and we count every day with him since as a gift. We love him so much. Those of you who have been reading the site since the beginning probably remember the wise and surprisingly philosophical advice Miles has shared in the past through his guest column, Dear…

Around six months ago I graduated from college. Since then most of my friends have moved away, and I have yet to find a secure job. It’s been tough and it has affected my relationship with my boyfriend. We started dating almost a year ago, and then, around a month ago, I broke down a bit from the stress of post-grad life and growing insecurities and we broke up. We recently got back together because he said he had made a mistake and that I was “the one.” Things resumed rockily at first but are going very well now. That is, until yesterday when I asked him if he still thought we…