Dear Eric: My question is, should I ask my mom for the birth mother’s information, name and address? My reasoning is that my mom is now 85 and my sister and her husband are in poor health. I believe my sister has destroyed all documents regarding the adoption, so I doubt any paperwork would be discovered by my niece after her passing.
Dear Eric: After my brother and I left for college, my mother carried on a series of extramarital affairs and ultimately left my father; she has now remarried to her latest fling. They are even attending the same church we went to from the time I was a child.
Dear Eric: I own a nice home with a pool. I have friends that often call me to ask me if I want to go lay out in the backyard or sometimes, they’ll just call and ask if they can come over to use the pool. My issue is when I have people over, I feel obligated to entertain. Even though I know I don’t need to feel obligated, and they don’t expect anything, I’m really getting increasingly uncomfortable with people inviting themselves over to my home.
Dear Eric: Blame it on my probably irrational fear that they could start a major blaze, and honestly, the fact that I just don’t want them smoking in my yard, around my child, by me. What can I do to make sure they aren’t smoking here?
Dear Eric: Several years ago, my mother-in-law passed away due to dementia. During the time of her illness, my husband and I took care of everything, including selling her house, auctioning off her estate, dealing with her boyfriend who could never admit she had dementia, and dealing with the COVID restrictions for visiting her. Of note, my brother-in-law lives in the upper Midwest; we, and his mother, live in Florida. The burden was put on us, not him.
Dear Eric: A Girl Scout dad engages me constantly during troop meetings, telling me about the latest horror of his ugly separation and upcoming divorce, usually within earshot of the kids. I offer simple responses to give him the message that I am busy watching my kid and not interested in the drama.
Dear Eric: I have been friends with “Bill” for more than 25 years. When the fire started in the Pacific Palisades, we had to evacuate our home. My wife and I went to one friend’s condo for two nights, then to another couple’s house for four nights and then we went to Bill and his wife’s guest house, which is separate from the main house.
Dear Anna, My boyfriend (32) and I (29) have been living together for three years in what I thought was relationship bliss. Last month, out of nowhere, he suggested that we spend one weekend each month completely apart as “me time” — separate activities, separate sleeping arrangements, minimal contact. He says it’s about “maintaining independence” […]
Dear Eric: I am a female executive employed by a large global corporation. It is a common practice in my workplace, and an expectation of my job, that I meet with colleagues, customers and service providers, sometimes while traveling for work, often solo, often for business lunches and dinners at restaurants.
Dear Eric: I am a man in my 50s who has fulfilled a 10-year dream: I have written, produced and starred in a comedy web series. I worked diligently on the scripting, put up my own funding, hired professional lighting, sound and editing. Three weeks after it was cut, I uploaded it to a popular comedy website. To my dismay, I received some very negative, even cruel comments. Fortunately, I also received positive feedback.