DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: This time last year I made a promise to myself to break up with my boyfriend if he continued to act like he has been acting, especially around other women. He laughs off what ... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My son is just turning six, and from things I have heard him saying to his mother and his friends, he has this idea that I am some kind of magical man, who can do everything a... more

To all my readers and their loved ones, I send best wishes for happy holidays, and all good things in the New Year!... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: When my grandparents were still alive, we all got together to have a real New Year’s Day feast with black-eyed peas, cornbread, pork, and greens, like only my grandmother coul... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I enjoy a good scary book or movie, but I never believed all that stuff was real until my family moved into our current house. It isn’t old and creepy in the least. It was bui... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: When we moved into our new home, we agreed to share the cooking, I would do the regular housecleaning, and my husband would do all the outside work and help with the heavy ind... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My partner and I each have our own car, but he likes to borrow mine, especially when it rains, because his car doesn’t always start in the rain.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My great-uncle is like an extra grandfather to me and my sister, especially after our grandpa died. He’s very old school and thinks kids should play with all sorts of toys, in... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Whenever I visit my daughter’s and her boyfriend’s apartment, I have to bite my tongue about how cluttered the place is. It makes me afraid I’m going to sit on something when ... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Even though I love my fiancée, I don’t feel like I am ready to get married right now, which I know happens sometimes, but for me is especially awkward because we had a very pu... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My daughter has been with her boyfriend for nearly five years now. He is a good guy overall, but he can be so defensive on her behalf to the point that if I am talking with my... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My husband comes from a very big family. Since he and his siblings were teenagers, they did a Secret Santa kind of gift exchange, and it worked out real well. I come from a mu... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My husband and I often watch our grandchildren after school, especially when their parents travel for work or pleasure.... more

DEAR READERS: About this time last year a column ran responding to a query from grandchildren about what to get their ailing grandparent for the holidays.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Earlier this year my wife started taking anti-depressants. She had been on them before, when she was a teenager and had had a bad time with a bunch of bad things happening at ... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: When my husband and I got married, I had already had my cat, PJ, for a few years. From the time we brought our daughter home after being born, she and PJ became best friends. ... more

DEAR READERS: It’s become clear to me over the years I’ve been doing this column that a large number of my readers and regular commenters are part of a community all their own. Whether you agree or di... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I honestly don’t know if he does it just to bug me, or if he has a problem, but my husband loves, and I mean loves, to tell me about his daily poo successes. I tell him I am n... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: After I received the save-the-date card from my niece for her wedding, I immediately called my sister, her mom, and asked if this was for real. My sister confirmed that the co... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My parents finally divorced after years of unhappiness. They lived apart for almost ten years before making it legal.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I heard from my mother that her older brother won’t be joining in any family holiday gatherings again this year, because, she said, he is still worried about COVID. She told m... more

DEAR READERS: Up until they both passed away, each November 11th I’d make a point wishing a Happy Veterans Day to my father, who served in WWII, and my father-in-law, who was in the Korean War.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: This is the first year both my husband’s and my grandparents are unable to hold Thanksgiving in their homes. So we decided to take over on the tradition and ask members from b... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My father-in-law and before him his dad have been into drag racing all their adult lives. I never met my grand-father-in-law, but from what I have been told, he started modify... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: The last time I picked up my 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter from their father’s house, all I heard was how “cool” Deadpool is, and how they wanted to watch it again wh... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My friend “Austin” and I keep finding ourselves attracted to the same person. Austin is not at all shy and will start talking with whoever he is attracted to, and I always bac... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I had my first child when I was 17. The baby daddy was a friend of my brother’s and already in college. I didn’t want to get married, and he didn’t offer, so that was all cool... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Out of the blue I received a Facebook friend request from an older woman with my last name. When I checked out her profile, there was a photo from what looked like the mid-196... more