DEAR MISS MANNERS: One of the organizing principles of my family's life has been that, since our kids were babies, we've eaten dinner together as a family nearly every night -- seated at our kitchen t... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work in a large medical center where colleagues frequently stop in the halls to converse. My quandary arises when these conversations occur with one participant on one side of the... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My family grew up in a lovely area. I still live here, while my brother and sister-in-law have moved out of state. My brother occasionally reaches out to ask if they can stay with m... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work for a public university and my boss is the head of the division. When I was hired, my duties included supervising his executive assistant, but she was laid off in 2020. My ti... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I sometimes find myself at an event where no one wants to talk to me.... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My mother-in-law is a very outgoing person. She is also an addict.... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I met this guy almost three years ago. We dated for about seven weeks, then he broke it off. We stayed in touch for about a year, and then he asked me to come over for dinner, and w... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend of mine, who lives in the same city, recently reached out: She had invited guests to stay with her the coming weekend, but the number of guests meant that she had nowhere t... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are both going to be 68 this year, and we live on a fixed income that barely covers expenses. We were lucky enough to inherit our home, which had been paid for in f... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I often get text alerts that my friend or family member "liked" my previous text message, along with the entire message repeated back to me. On group text threads, this can go on fo... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: It happened AGAIN last week for the umpteenth time: I took my car in for maintenance at the dealership, which prides itself on customer service. I waited in the very comfortable lou... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: How can one respond when bumping into a friend they haven't seen in a year or so, and the first thing the friend says is, "Where have YOU been? You haven't been around in ages!"... more

DEAR MISS MANNERS: The custom of taking hats off indoors seems to be disappearing. Even in church and classrooms, I am increasingly seeing hats (baseball caps, especially).... more