Dear Annie: I grew up never allowed to have pets. I’ve been married almost 30 years to a man who allowed me to have a small inside dog, and he doesn’t mind her so much but hates the two we have outside. Both are rescues, one from his oldest son that had him tied to a tree, the other from a ...

I was at Mass Sunday evening at New Ulm Cathedral. As usual at church, thoughts swirled in my head. The act of stilling myself for worship and letting the busyness of life come to a stop is like braking suddenly in a car. It takes a while to go from sixty to zero. The Second Reading from 1 ...

Dear Heloise: Last month, I got my five grandkids started on a project that I hope will be lifelong. I took egg cartons and filled each egg slot with dirt. Then we planted seeds in each of the egg slots. They got so excited when the tiny green leaves started to sprout. My goal is simple. I ...

Dear Annie: My mother, who is now 62, has always been a dominant personality, keen on having things go her way. I’m 34, an independent graphic designer, and I pride myself on being self-sufficient and creative. But every time I share aspects of my life with her -- be it career choices, ...

May is the month is which we observe mental health awareness, an issue that has strong personal resonance with me. I’ve had two instances in my life when I suffered from delusional thoughts. One occurred in 2004 when I had to make a decision about giving up my job and going to graduate ...

Dear Annie: My friend “Emily” and I go way back to our college days, when we used to share absolutely everything with each other -- the good, the bad and the ugly. She recently got a promotion at work (she works for a well-known accounting firm), something I know she’s been dreaming of ...