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Busy Mom Fights to Prevent Frustrations From Exploding

DEAR ABBY: I’m a 24-year-old woman who has been married for four years. My husband, “Jerry,” and I have two young boys. Jerry is military. I stay at home with the kids and work part time online on an associate degree. We struggle financially, but our basic needs are met and, overall, I’m happy with my life. My problem is I’m finding myself struggling to control a very strong temper. The kids or my husband may be getting on my nerves, or I’m late turning in an assignment, or I’m unable to get housework done — these frustrations build up inside and make me want to throw ...

Online Bullying

Dear Heloise: Back in the day, bullying and intimidation by kids and classmates used to STOP the minute a child stepped off the school bus. Today though, with social media, it can perpetuate. Kids can post demeaning, humiliating and, most importantly, UNTRUE things about classmates online, 24/7, for everyone to see. This is why I take my kids’ phones from them when they get home, and all of their activity is reviewed. I trust my kids, but I want to make sure they understand how much words matter. — Cindy W. in Illinois Cindy, such an important lesson to learn. Thanks for your ...

Mom Threatens Divorce After Teens Find Their Dad’s Stash

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are going on 19 years of marriage and have three teenage girls. We have had multiple rounds of marriage counseling, mostly with good results, although the benefits seem to be short-lived. Most of our problems have stemmed from my husband’s drinking or smoking pot. He’s not abusive, he’s a good provider, but he just likes to get high. Thank God it’s not often, but I’m not nor have I ever been OK with it. Our girls recently found his pot stash and helped themselves. When I questioned them about where they got it, they admitted they found their ...

Charity Scams

Today’s Sound Off is a warning about Charity scams: Dear Heloise: In this colder weather, many charities will be asking for donations to help the homeless and the needy. Many are reputable agencies whose only goal is to help others. However, it’s also a time when some scam artists try to make their bogus phone calls and emails sound legitimate, but they’re really out to help only themselves. Don’t let them pressure you to give right now. It’s a warning sign that they are scammers. If they request payment in cash, gift card or wire transfer, it’s another sign of a scammer. ...

Pastor Having Affair Keeps His Engagement Under Wraps

DEAR ABBY: A new single pastor was assigned to my church. He asked if I was single and if I had kids. I told him no, and we began having an affair. For two years, it was all in secret. Then I began noticing that a single lady from his previous church would visit. He told me she was concerned about him being alone, so she was stopping by on her way through. Well, I now know she was more than that. While he was having his affair with me, he was engaged to her. When I confronted him, he denied it. They got married in secret, and he didn’t tell the church until afterward. Everyone ...

Being Open, Honest With Adopted Kids

Q: We've always been open with our teenage son about the fact that we adopted him at birth. But recently he's become almost obsessed with the topic — and especially his birth parents. If he gets upset, he shouts that we aren't his "real" mom and dad. This is devastating to us; we love him so much and want him to know we ARE his family. How can we help him? Jim: This is actually a common scenario for adoptive families. All teenagers struggle with identity issues, and that's definitely compounded when the various facets of adoption get thrown in the mix ("my biological parents didn't ...