Jeanne Phillips
LATEST STORIES BY JEANNE PHILLIPS
DEAR ABBY: Mom doesn’t like son keeping her in the dark
DEAR ABBY: I am worried about my 21-year-old son, “Travis.” He hasn’t quite left our home that he shares with me and my husband, but he sleeps here only one or two nights. He’s in school part time and works part time, which means working or studying long hours until morning.

DEAR ABBY: Errant voicemail reveals a troubled relationship
DEAR ABBY: I recently received a voicemail from my brother that recorded a conversation he was having with his wife. It was clear he didn’t know he had accidentally dialed my phone during this conversation. It was an argument, which lasted two minutes before there was a pause in the conversation and he hung up.

DEAR ABBY: Widow ready to take a second chance at love
DEAR ABBY: In a few days, the second anniversary of my husband’s death will be here. We were together for 40 years. They weren’t easy years; he had many issues, both physical and mental. I was isolated because I didn’t want others to know the extent of what I lived with every day. I cared deeply for him, and as his wife, it was for better or worse.

DEAR ABBY: College graduate is treated like a hostage at home
DEAR ABBY: I’m a 23-year-old college graduate who was lucky enough to land a job in my field of study. The job is located in my hometown. Because I couldn’t afford my own apartment, I moved back in with my parents. The situation was supposed to be temporary, but now that I can afford to move out, my parents insist that I stay with them. They forbid me to move until I pay off the entirety of my student loans, which will take years. Then, after I accomplish that, they want me to start repaying them for the loans THEY took out for my schooling.

DEAR ABBY: Murder of sibling has changed demeanour of victim’s brother
DEAR ABBY: Last year, my son, his girlfriend and two others were murdered outside a city where “things like this don’t happen.” My other two boys received a call to come immediately to their dad’s home, where it had happened. My boys were the first to witness the bloody scene. They called 911. My son lived two days more. Today would have been his birthday. His brothers witnessed something beyond imaginable.

DEAR ABBY: Frank conversation hasn’t paid off in the bedroom
DEAR ABBY: After years of disappointment, I finally found the man of my dreams. How do I tell him he isn’t doing certain things right in the bedroom without it being uncomfortable? I have mentioned it before, but it didn’t stick. This is the only problem with our relationship. I don’t want to hurt his feelings or make either one of us uncomfortable, but he’s just not getting the job done. — WORKING ON IT IN TENNESSEE

DEAR ABBY: In-laws' name game is hurtful to son’s wife
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been happily married for 12 years. We have a beautiful family — a 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. My husband is not close with his side of the family. We are very close to mine. My husband has a brother my kids have never met. He has two great-nieces and one great-nephew whom none of us have met. He does maintain a relationship with his parents. They usually visit once a year, as we live out of state.

DEAR ABBY: Grocery store’s changes make shopping a hassle
DEAR ABBY: The grocery store a mile from our house has recently gone through a major expansion and upgrade. I have shopped there my entire life. The store has two points of ingress and egress. I have always entered through the door most convenient for me. If what I need is on the east side of the store, I enter and exit via the closest door.
