Archives

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve been going to a lot of holiday parties and end-of-year events in the past few weeks. It has been a lot of fun -- until I see myself in photos. I don’t usually take pictures, but I... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend my mother calls “sometime-y.” When he is interested, he is very attentive; when he is distracted, he could not care less. I have sent him texts with friendly messages a... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son goes to a private school with some very wealthy people. They don’t generally flaunt their wealth, but around the holidays, it becomes apparent. Most of my son’s friends are trav... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently started a job that involves a lot of travel. I was given a company credit card but was told that I have to pay for my own food and charge the company back for a small percen... more

DEAR READERS: Merry Christmas! On this day and throughout this week, we historically choose to celebrate. While this is a Christian holiday, it has become a marker for the time of year when family and... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My mother-in-law is Jehovah’s Witness. She explained to me that this means she doesn’t celebrate any holidays. Her husband is a more mainstream Christian, so he does celebrate.... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter loves rap music, and she is very upset right now. She says that her favorite artists keep dying. She went to a music festival a couple of months ago, and one of the artists... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am going on vacation at Christmastime this year. I usually go to visit my family, but my mother passed away a few months ago, and there is no family home to visit. I feel a bit lost ... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My 8-year-old son was invited to go skiing with some of his friends from school during winter break. This sounds like a lot of fun -- and scary. My son has never skied before. I’m nerv... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: A note was posted on my apartment door informing the tenants that one of the long-time handymen in the building is ill and won’t be coming back. The person who posted this notice asked... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: We are approaching the end of this year, and I hate to admit it, but I have not reached the goals I set for myself back in January. It seems like the year has zipped by. I worked a lot... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I bought some jewelry from a vendor, but I needed to return it. We organized the return, but she gave me the wrong ZIP code. It took me a month to track the package so that she could p... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently learned that one of my neighbors lost his job and is about to be evicted. It turns out, he hasn’t had electricity in his apartment for more than a year. Who knew? I feel hor... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter has been dating the same boy for two years. They seem to be in love. We like him and his family.... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I suspect that my teenage son is gay, but he won’t talk to me about his life at all. I want to be supportive, and I have a male friend who is gay. Do you think it is appropriate for me... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: A friend of mine got displaced recently. Her neighborhood is being gentrified, and her apartment building was sold. She had no choice but to move -- even though she had lived there for... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son has started hanging out with a group of boys who are constantly getting into trouble. He is in the ninth grade at a new school, and I know he has had to figure out how to fit in... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a love-hate relationship with my cousin. We have become close in recent years, but he also gets on my nerves.... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: When my daughter was a baby, we had a nanny who took care of her for many years. Time has passed so quickly; my daughter is about to go to college.... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: In the past few weeks, I have learned about several friends or people that I know who have died in their sleep. It is scaring me so much. These people were pretty young -- in their 40s... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My boyfriend told me that he was going on a business trip last week. When he got home, he dodged any questions about his trip. I did something I know I shouldn’t have: I looked at his ... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have 10-year-old twin sons. Over the years, my husband and I have often given them the same gifts for holidays. We have done that in part because they are so similar. They are identi... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I belong to a public service organization that is largely dysfunctional. I know that’s a bold statement, but I’m not kidding. I joined thinking that we were going to do good work for c... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter is 10 years old, and she is already developing like a teenager. I am torn as to how to deal with this. When I was growing up, my mother made me wear undershirts until I was... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My girlfriend has been confiding in me about her sex life with her husband. He has erectile dysfunction, and she is upset about it. He won’t go to the doctor because he is too embarras... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work in a conservative office where most people wear dark suits every day. I have conformed as much as I feel comfortable, but I hate wearing dark clothes all the time. Before this j... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: The holidays are coming, and I am worried about how the conversations will go. We will be traveling down South to visit family, and in our relatively small family, we do not share simi... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter often has one of her friends over after school and on weekends. I have noticed that this girl does not have very good hygiene. Her hair is usually dirty and greasy, and man... more