DEAR ABBY: I am a mental health therapist, and one of my favorite things to do is to read about people's experiences. Part of that is reading advice columns such as yours. More than once, a person has written about being a part of an open relationship (I'm talking about consensual situations). Your negative bias and judgment always come through in a way that makes me think you are not really giving the best feedback.

Overall, I prefer monogamous one-on-one relationships. Granted, I know life can be complicated, and what happens between two or three (or more) consulting adults is not something to sneer at. I suggest you reflect on your bias and judgment for people who live differently than you.

Of course, sometimes I read about people who are rude and clueless, and you put them in their place. However, these situations -- open relationships -- I think are really outside your comfort zone to be preaching about. Do more research and grow more compassion, please, Abby. -- MORE OPEN-MINDED IN ARIZONA

DEAR OPEN-MINDED: You are correct. I do have a bias against open relationships. I do not, however, lack compassion. I feel the way I do because I have seen and learned from readers that these relationships are often not as "free-willed" as some would like to think. Sometimes the recessive partner feels coerced by the dominant one. I have also heard from those who tried it and ended up losing their spouse. While some open relationships are successful, the people I hear from are usually the ones who are hurting, which has also influenced my feelings on this subject.

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I rent half of my sister and brother-in-law's house. They live in the front part; we live in the back. We have our own separate kitchen and bathroom, though we must go outside and around the corner and then reenter to use it.

We went on vacation for a month. While we were gone, my brother-in-law was supposed to remodel our kitchen and bathroom and be done by the time we got back. Four months later, nothing is ready to use. They told us we could use their kitchen and dedicated one of the inside bathrooms for us. Using their kitchen never worked for us, and my wife is always uncomfortable going into their part of the house.

Because of the inconvenience, my brother-in-law reduced our rent by half, and we were good with this. We mostly communicate by texting. He now claims he will be done next month, but I'm not so sure. Regardless, he now wants to raise our rent to approximately 75% of the "usual" instead of half. What do you think of this? -- INCONVENIENCED IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR INCONVENIENCED: I think that, because your brother-in-law is unreliable, you should pay the increase in rent upon completion of the promised remodel and not before.

DEAR ABBY: My ex-husband and I share a 3-year-old grandchild through our son. Until now, it hasn't been a big problem because I live in the same city as my son's family, but that's about to change. My grandson is the joy of my life, and I plan to visit wherever they move after my son's job transfer. I had been considering a move back to our hometown. Unbeknownst to me, my son has also been considering a move back there.

The problem for me is that my ex-husband still lives there, and he's inclined to take over and monopolize the child in the same way he did with our son. He remains hostile toward me 20 years after our divorce.

Part of me says I need to be willing to put up with the pain of being in close proximity to my ex to be near my grandson. However, it reminds me strongly of staying married to him for the sake of what I perceived to be our children's well-being. In hindsight that was, of course, misguided. Despite my reservations, should I set aside my doubts, move back to my home city and see what happens? -- DECISIONS TO MAKE

DEAR DECISIONS: Discuss your reservations with your son and daughter-in-law. If your ex-husband tries to monopolize their child, could they put the brakes on it? On the plus side, you are not the same woman you were 20 years ago. I'd like to think that you are stronger and smarter now. If I'm right, while your ex may present a pain in the behind, it would be a tolerable pain, and you would have the access you want to your grandchild.

DEAR ABBY: My mother-in-law has a habit that makes me sick to my stomach. When we are out to dinner with her, she frequently asks, "Can I have a taste of that?" Then, without waiting for a response, she'll stick her fork or spoon into my food and take a piece of it. It nauseates me when I try to eat the rest of the serving. I don't know how to deal with this. She is very sensitive and easily offended, and I have always had the feeling she doesn't like me and doesn't think I'm good enough for her son.

I have asked my husband to nicely ask his mother to stop doing this, but he refuses because he doesn't want to insult his mother. When I told him it makes me sick to my stomach, he asked if I have ever actually gotten sick from eating food her used utensils have touched, and I had to admit that I have not. So he said, "Then where's the harm?" It still really bothers me. What can I do? -- MY FOOD IS MINE

DEAR FOOD IS MINE: Whether your mother-in-law thinks you aren't good enough for her precious son is irrelevant. Because tolerating her rudeness hasn't endeared you to her, you might as well start standing up for yourself. The next time she asks for "a taste of that" smile, grab your plate, cut her off a piece and then hand it to her.

DEAR ABBY: My stepdaughter "Annie" gave my husband a photo album of his life for his 80th birthday. The album included pictures of his parents and grandparents as well as photos from his first marriage -- to Annie's mother. She included one picture of their wedding and two more of them posing as a loving couple. She included few pictures of me, even though her dad and I have been married for more than 40 of his 80 years. A photograph from our wedding was not included.

I love Annie. We get along well, and I am very hurt that she included those two pictures of the "loving couple." I feel it was inappropriate for an album she expects to be displayed in our home for family, friends and neighbors to see. I would like to ask her to reprint the album without those two pictures. Am I being unreasonable? -- STEPMOM IN THE SOUTH

DEAR STEPMOM: Because you have a good relationship with Annie, explain to her that you felt slighted when you saw the album, and why. Explain that you would like to be able to prominently display it if she would please either have it reprinted with the addition of a couple of photos of you and your husband together, or with only the wedding picture of her parents. This shouldn't be difficult to do.

DEAR ABBY: My 8-year-old nephew accidentally fell on my dog, who then reacted and snapped at him, leaving a small puncture mark on his arm. We immediately removed the dog and apologized to my nephew, who was riddled with guilt because he knew he caused it. Because it was an accident, I told my nephew it was OK.

Weeks later, my sister and I realized that my brother hasn't responded to any of our daily text messages or Facebook posts. When we see him in person, he is fine. He jokes with us and even plans to rent a storage unit with us for our grandparents' stuff. But then he ignores our text messages.

We told our mother he has been ignoring us for quite some time. He admitted to her that he's super annoyed with the whole family for not training our dog not to react when he gets hit. I now feel my brother's purposefully bad behavior is worse than the accident. What do you think? -- SIS WHO WANTS HARMONY

DEAR SIS: What happened to your nephew was an accident. Your brother's behavior is passive-aggressive and childish. I think you should ignore it and quit texting him and commenting on his Facebook posts for a while. A long while. Don't you?

DEAR ABBY: I am a divorced woman who has recently decided to jump back into the dating pool. However, five years ago, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I am in treatment and doing well. When and how would I tell someone I'm seeing that I have cancer? -- READY IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR READY: The time to reveal your medical diagnosis would be when the relationship becomes romantic. It would be dishonest to withhold that information from someone who is investing emotionally in you.