DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My late father-in-law was a career firefighter. For all the years he was on the job, my mother-in-law listened to the dispatch scanner so she would know when her husband was g... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My mother walked out on my father, sister, and me when I was seven years old. Since then, she had next to nothing to do with us. When my sister got married, she invited our mo... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I married into an affluent family, and I love hosting dinners for my in-laws.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I have been trying to reassure my transgender cousin that she will be welcome at our grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary dinner being put together by our parents. Still, ... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Our daughter had her pick of five schools. Of course, she’s opting to go to the one with the biggest reputation as a party school. We have told her we think this isn’t her bes... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Our daughter, who along with our grandson, lives with us, just told us she is expecting, and under other circumstances, we would be thrilled.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My daughter and her husband just bought a fixer-upper about an hour from where my wife and I live. My son-in-law is pretty handy, but not nearly as experienced with home repai... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I was raised in a time when children, for the most part, didn’t attend wakes or burials. I wasn’t at my own grandmother’s, which took place when I was ten. I didn’t go to a wa... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My son is going back to school to get his master’s in psychology, which, as he and his dad explain, he needs to get very far in such a competitive field.... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My own mother says I’m being nuts, but it hurts me that although I’m the one home with our 11-month-old daughter, I become invisible when her daddy comes back from work. He sw... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My son met a woman who started working as a cashier at the pharmacy where he’s an assistant manager. She is the divorced mother of two tweens, and my son just turned 23. He ha... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My dad has called himself a hypochondriac for as long as I can remember. It got worse after he and my mom split up right before I started high school. When that happened, they... more

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: My mom and dad split when I was really young, and my dad moved away and started a new family. My mom raised my brother and me mostly on her own, although my dad always support... more