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DEAR ABBY: My wife and I are approaching our 40th anniversary. Friends and family have already begun to mention the upcoming milestone. While I politely acknowledge the event, I hide my indifference. You see, my wife has always been a serial cheater. It’s a secret I have kept from everyone, especially our children.
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An unthinkable, most unbelievable, event occurred in Boston in 1919 right after First World War. I didn’t believe it after I read about it, but I found articles about it to be listed in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Christian Monitor, Wikipedia, and CBS News websites. So I have some confidence that it really happened.
Read moreAlthough there will always be the occasional opportunistic prankster, more and more Near Death Experiences (NDEs) are being reported by professionals, including doctors, lawyers, community leaders, and academic scholars—people who have extensive visibility and interaction within the public square. These individuals, it would seem, are much more dependent upon their credibility than others in the general population. Of such people, it can reasonably be said that they have much to lose and very little to gain by reporting a false NDE. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to believe that their testimony concerning what they experienced during a NDE is most likely reliable and trustworthy. In particular, NDEs by atheists in which they encounter what they interpret to be either Jesus or God, and lead to a life-changing conversion, are very powerful stories indeed. One such story comes from the “fierce atheist” John Wren-Lewis (1923-2006).
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DEAR ABBY: I have been happily married for 30 years. Unfortunately, my wife’s family (two older sisters and her mother, who is 97) have rejected not only me, but now my wife. While our relationship with my mother-in-law is cordial, our relationship with her sisters is poor. Recently, her sisters put their mother into an elder care facility without informing us, much less inviting us to tour the facility. By the time we found out, the paperwork had already been signed. The facility is two hours away from where she had been living (closer to the oldest sister), meaning my MIL will be forced to give up her social life and her doctors of 30-plus years. (She lived in a big city, so finding a facility near her apartment would have been easy.) Starting anew is hard at any age. My motherin- law says she’s depressed about this. It is unclear whether she was competent to make this decision, but litigation seems futile and out of our budget. Ranting at my wife’s sisters would be a waste of time, but sitting here in silent anger is untenable as well. I guess we are looking for validation that it is reasonable to be angry, even if we don’t act on that anger, unless you have better advice for this situation. -- UPSET IN PENNSYLVANIA DEAR UPSET: I will assume that your sisterin- law has power of attorney for your mother-in-law, who has reached the point that she needs an increasing amount of care. By age 97, it stands to reason that most of her friends have passed on. It makes sense that she would be moved into assisted living close enough that your sisters-inlaw could see her often. While it would have been nice had your wife been kept in the loop about the move, her relationship with her sisters isn’t cordial. You both are entitled to your feelings about what has happened, but please don’t let it rule your lives. ** DEAR ABBY: Recently, our good friends of 35 years, “Cherise” and “Robert,” announced the upcoming wedding of their daughter. Our children grew up together. Invitations have not been sent out, but they have let us know the date and location of the destination wedding. My husband and I will go, but my children won’t be able to make it because of their jobs, kids, etc. Cherise called me today, very upset, to tell me how hurt she is. Abby, our children went their separate ways 20 years ago. They never see each other! My son had planned a destination wedding five years ago (which didn’t happen because of COVID), and Cherise’s entire family declined, which I completely understood. I’m confused about why her reaction was so strong. I’m not telling my children about this because they will feel bad. Should I let this go? -- THROWN IN OREGON DEAR THROWN: Yes, let it go. Your children are adults and have their own priorities. You can’t control them, nor should you try. I’m sorry Cherise is upset, but your children are not responsible for it. The “kids” are not as close as she assumed they were, and she is going to have to learn to accept that.
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DEAR ABBY: I am a widow who has been dating a widower for the past eight years. He’s a wonderful man and the love of my life. We both have children, so we have been extremely careful not to cause them any distress with our relationship, and we have kept our home lives pretty separate.
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DEARABBY: My daughter- in-law, “Louise,” died of cancer five years ago. She was 45; my son, “Pete,” was 48. They’d been married for 15 years and had no children.
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