Dear Eric: We’ve discussed it a few times and she makes an improvement for a short term but soon backslides into her habit of having four, five, sometimes six glasses of wine a night. At the same time, I’ve eliminated alcohol entirely.
Dear Eric: I did a bad thing – I ghosted a friend. The friendship made me uncomfortable.
Dear Eric: Is there a gentle way to remind people that age is not a topic that should come up in the workplace unless it is specifically related to succession or retirement planning?
Dear Eric: We’re hoping you can advise on which would be the best behavior during bridal/baby/etc., shower games, when I am (humbly) very good at winning everything.
Dear Eric: He is so bad that it forced us to cut a vacation short because a terrible, over-the-top incident led me to tears (as usual). He drove us the three states back home and we haven’t been on vacation since.
Dear Eric: At a recent family celebration, I witnessed a crime committed by my outlaw relatives.
Dear Eric: It troubles me that I might go to my grave with this information about my children’s cousin-they-never-had and it sometimes keeps me up at night.
Dear Eric: How do I keep going? How can I redirect my thoughts when the jealousy/despair hits?
Dear Eric: While this will offer many benefits, including spending more time with my brother, helping my aging parents, saving money instead of paying crushing DC rent and giving me the opportunity to move ahead financially for the first time in my life, my friends treat this as if I’m moving away forever and will essentially cease to exist.
Dear Eric: I’m in my late 30s and definitely want to cohabitate and consider parenthood. How do I deal with my partner?