As they move in together, the letter writer assumes the boyfriend’s secondhand furniture will live in their basement.

Letter writer wants adult kids to want to visit, but husband isn’t okay with them sharing a room with their partners.

College student decided on time off this summer but feels pressured to take an internship and worries about falling behind.

Letter writer can’t mention any other plans without this friend inviting herself along.

She’s frustrated that her grandkids are so scheduled, she sees them only when her daughter needs a driver or babysitter.

Fiancé and his family enable his alcoholic mother, and it’s hard for this letter writer to watch.

Letter writer is bothered that wealthy relatives, for their third baby but first girl, are throwing themselves a baby shower.

Stuck in a boring routine, the letter writer now suspects boyfriend moved in just to avoid getting engaged.

For the letter writer, the impact of choosing the “wrong spouse” includes a loss of confidence in making life decisions.

Mother-in-law is respectful and cooperative with them directly, then complains about their parenting choices to others.

Their lack of intimacy has spread to every aspect of their 30-year marriage, and the letter writer is stuck on what’s next.

Letter writer had to cut back after going into debt treating family to luxuries — and they’re not liking the downgrade.

Husband’s sister is “openly hostile” to him, and the letter writer doesn’t know how to respond.

He broke their engagement, so the letter writer pretends they’re strangers when they cross paths — but he’s not okay with this.

A widow feels comfortable saying no to a date but feels rude declining invitations to be friends.

Despite becoming caregiver now to a husband who is 16 years older, this letter writer hopes to preserve their “mutuality.”

“Black sheep” wife wants protective distance from relatives, but her spouse wants an extended family for their child’s benefit.

A Pacific Northwest aunt who had a backyard potluck wedding in the 1970s chafes at her niece’s Texas black-tie demands.

Advice columnist Carolyn Hax answers your questions about the strange train we call life.

Her daughter from a teen pregnancy was secretly raised as her sister. Her biological father just told her the truth.

Their longtime HVAC tech has a new look, and a client wonders whether it’s okay to “comment on his transformation.”

A letter writer wonders how to proceed after an effort to be generous and inclusive backfires, upsetting both her adult kids.

Mom favored the eldest girl, Dad loved their fifth baby, a boy — and three girls born trying for the boy were largely ignored.

She’s embarrassed that she is still too worried about sounding “needy” to bring up the future of her relationship.

The letter writer’s coping strategy is to interrupt the “special guest” and take her down a peg — but the sister finally snapped.

A spouse wonders how to respond when wife insists TV is okay while she works — then complains about her productivity.

A mom is conflicted about her daughter’s wedding after the bride decides not to include her sister as an attendant.

Intergenerational grudges are piling up in a mixed-faith family after a grandfather and aunt refuse to attend a bat mitzvah.

She was quietly waiting for friends to be the ones to initiate, but the letter writer didn’t know this until it was too late.

A parent fears their teen will follow a first love to a lesser college and regret passing up a prestigious, free education.

A letter writer doesn’t know how to handle a subversive mother-in-law, and her husband isn’t helping.

Advice columnist Carolyn Hax answers your questions about the strange train we call life.

A parent struggles to process teen sons’ feelings about their dad’s volatile behavior.

Letter writer’s niece spent Christmas with her instead of her own family, and now “my sister is basically not talking with me.”

Letter writer is worried about safety, but boyfriend is adamant about not dead-bolting the apartment door.

Husband is in counseling after his negativity hit a low point, but the normally upbeat letter writer is nearing one now, too.

A grandchild is worried about ailing grandparents as strained family relationships impede sharing of health information.

She likes a TV on all day, every day, and can’t understand, after moving in with son’s family, why her daughter-in-law objects.

Regardless of the thorns in any of our feet, we all just have to carry on.

A new work crush helps the letter writer see how tired she is of initiating all the intimacy in her marriage.

He has always loved the letter writer, who wonders whether a celibate marriage pact is the answer if neither finds anyone else.

After compromised care for an ectopic pregnancy, she wants to move to a legal-abortion state, but he thinks that’s overreacting.

Letter writer’s birthday plan was to fish with dog, brother and widower dad, but dad replaced it with his own idea of a vacation.

Letter writer is able to forgive dad’s neglect, so why can’t the big brothers who helped raise her do the same?

A letter writer’s White husband embraced her Indian American traditions before they wed but now insists she drop them.

They quietly separated and live together for their child — but he socializes openly with other people, and it’s awkward.

Their daughter called her “judgmental” and left at 18, so she wants only their son, who stayed close, in their will.

Paying for their nanny means the letter writer “kind of can’t help” but judge how the couple spend their money.