Jeanne Phillips
LATEST STORIES BY JEANNE PHILLIPS
DEAR ABBY: Car alarm repeatedly wakes up sleeping neighbours
DEAR ABBY: I’m fortunate that most of my neighbours are kind and considerate. We’ve all enjoyed sharing each other’s celebrations. However, there’s one family among the five households that we’ve never managed to connect with on a personal level. Despite our efforts, such as giving gifts and food, they have always been unresponsive. While there’s no animosity, there is also no rapport.

DEAR ABBY: Dad is worried for daughter on the verge of adulthood
DEAR ABBY: I am a single parent of two girls. My oldest, “Becca,” is 17. She has been dating this guy and, as soon as she graduates, plans to move in with him and two of his friends (another couple). What worries me is that their relationship is pretty toxic. They are always fighting. I have begged her not to move in with him, but she won’t budge.

DEAR ABBY: Mother-in-law has been couple's roommate for 14 years
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been happily married for 15 years. My mother-in-law, “Pat,” a widow since 1997, has lived with us for the last 14 years. She lived alone in her own apartment when my wife and I first were married but was going through bouts of depression. I initially extended the offer to her to live with us until she got through her depression, and I mentioned it would be for only a year or two.

DEAR ABBY: Alcoholic wants to be in the room for grandchild's birth
DEAR ABBY: I am an adult child of an alcoholic. My mother is a mean drunk. While growing up, I had to act as her therapist and deal with her co-dependency. I have been lucky to have processed a lot of the trauma in therapy and to have a loving and healthy family of my own now. We actively avoid Mom after 3 p.m. because I don’t want my kids subjected to her cruelty. I do not think it is healthy for them to be around abusive, inebriated people.

DEAR ABBY: Man's delusions put brother in a difficult spot
DEAR ABBY: My younger brother, “Paul,” is 40 and in a rut. He became friends with a friend of mine, “Mitch,” whom I met in college. Paul also became good friends with Mitch’s wife, “Iris.” After a year of close friendship, my brother made a pass at Mitch’s wife during a BBQ. He was promptly asked to leave, and they have ceased contact with him.

DEAR ABBY: Friendship with co-worker fades as aspirations diverge
DEAR ABBY: I had a close friendship with a co-worker. We used to have lunch together and shared many personal and intimate stories. We were the two work newbies, even though I started six months before he did.

DEAR ABBY: Two decades have not healed painful breach in relationship
DEAR ABBY: Twenty years ago, I developed psychosis with a personality change. I did things I’m ashamed of. I had an affair, remarried and moved out of the country, leaving my 13-year-old daughter with my ex-husband. I snapped out of it 15 years ago with the help of a good psychiatrist and excellent medication. I deeply regret my behaviour, and I have made every effort to change things. However, my relationship with my daughter has never recovered in spite of my apologies, sorrow and deep shame.

DEAR ABBY: Woman's surprise revelation is bewildering to relative
DEAR ABBY: I received a Facebook message from my first cousin. In it, she apologized for not communicating for the past 10 months. It ended with, “Send me your address so I can send you a birth announcement.” Abby, I wasn’t even aware that she had been pregnant.

DEAR ABBY: Time at shared vacation home is the opposite of relaxing
DEAR ABBY: We share a vacation home with another family. My husband and I are neat people. The other family is the opposite. They leave dirty dishes in the sink for days, promising, “I’ll get to them.” Dirty diapers are left on the living room floor as well as toys, clothes and stale food. It’s disgusting.
