Archives

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a father trying to repair my relationships with my grown children. While the kids were growing up, I was never as present as I wanted to be in their lives, and I regret that. I wa... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am an entrepreneur. I have helped a good friend of mine who owns a struggling business that lacks funding, and it has caused a great deal of stress on both of us. My friend has not b... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: A recently retired former employee of mine is trying to build a friendship with me. We were never particularly friendly while they were employed, and I find the dynamic now to be awkwa... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son is in college, and the trips to visit him or bring him home for breaks and holidays are expensive. Recently, my husband asked me how much his spring break flight cost. When I to... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work freelance and, therefore, never know when it will be feast or famine. As a result, I always say a resounding yes when I am asked to do a job. I had a good year last year, but th... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I went to an event and saw a lot of people I haven’t seen for a long time. One woman was very friendly, which was nice, but caught me off guard. She is what my mother calls “sometime-y... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My mother has always expressed frustration with her immediate family, specifically her parents and her sister. She moved away from them as soon as she turned 18. As I was growing up, m... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My brother has been battling substance addiction for a while now. My boyfriend struggled with the same thing for years before I met him, and he is now completely sober, healthy and thr... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: What used to be cute in my marriage is now driving me crazy. I can’t stand the habits that define my husband’s daily routine. Even the way he gets out of bed in the morning grates on m... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: At 26 years old, I'm finally in a position to support myself independently. Despite the tangible indicators of adulthood, I still feel like I'm not ready for it. There are times when I... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I was trying to send a text message to my friend, and it inadvertently went to my boss. There wasn’t anything bad in it, per se. But my language was a bit racy. I used a couple of curs... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel like I have been sick all winter. I know part of it is because I have been going too hard, but I don’t know how to stop. My job has me out and about many evenings during the wee... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work for a company that still requires employees to take a weekly COVID-19 test. I get it; the disease is not gone yet and may never completely go away. I have friends who have gotte... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have serious concerns about my fiance attending a bachelor party. I don't like the idea of a bunch of guys drinking and making drunk decisions throughout the evening with my future h... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I'm about to host my own birthday dinner. I want to invite a few friends out to a nice restaurant, but I'm stuck on how I should split the check. Do I pay for only my portion and expec... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am about to turn 26. I am excited and nervous. I work for a small company that does not provide health insurance. I have been on my mom’s insurance for my whole life, but that ends n... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work on a project with a woman who drives me nuts. First of all, she does not do a thorough job, which leaves me with a lot of cleanup work. Second, because we are working on this jo... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My anniversary is coming up soon, and it’s a big one. Normally I would go all out and host a big party, but I’m not feeling it. Half the time I am so mad at my husband that I don’t tal... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I've been with my girlfriend for two years now, and things are great. But I am starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with how often she posts about me on social media. It's nice t... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who has always had low standards for the men in her life. She goes out of her way to do everything for them and is consistently disappointed in the end because they don... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am writing to ask for advice about how I should handle my employee moving out of the country while we remain a fully remote team. Obviously, she is allowed to work from anywhere she ... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel so bad. A friend of mine asked me to talk to her dad about a project he is working on. I agreed right away, but then I got distracted. First, I got sick with whatever bug is mak... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I ran into a woman at work I hadn’t connected with for more than a year. We have been saying that we were going to get together for dinner, but neither of our schedules would match up.... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work in a high-stress environment with an unreasonable boss. She often makes us work through lunch, sometimes without even having time to go to the bathroom. It’s crazy, but when we ... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: As someone tasked with interviewing people who have stories that may not be of particular interest to me, I often struggle with connecting to my subjects. How can I possibly be interes... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: The prospect of starting my new job is a little intimidating. After years in a role with plenty of freedom and lenient management, I feel like I'm about to enter the deep end of a tota... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son is in college now, and it’s really difficult for me to stop calling or texting him on a daily basis. A friend of mine reminded me that this is his time to begin to exert his ind... more

DEAR HARRIETTE: It’s somewhat frightening how many people I know who are having serious medical issues. I arrived at an off-site job earlier this week only to learn that a woman I hadn’t seen for a fe... more