If you want to see why President Donald Trump is visiting Pennsylvania to talk about affordability, and why he is planning rallies on the topic around the country in coming weeks, just look at the simple question asked in the new Harvard CAPS Harris poll: “What would you say are the most important issues facing the country today?”
DEAR HARRIETTE: My adult daughters absolutely refuse to call or visit their father, and it’s become a constant point of tension in our family. I’m still married to him, and while they love me, they make it clear they want nothing to do with him. They grew up watching me handle almost everything in the household all while working full time. Meanwhile, their dad was emotionally distant and rarely helpful, and he often acted like any family responsibility was an inconvenience. Now that they’re older, they tell me that he’s selfish and that I deserve better. They insist I should divorce him and “start fresh,” but they don’t understand how complicated that feels at my age. I’ve spent decades with this man. I don’t want to be lonely, and I don’t want to divide the family even further, but the idea of starting over is overwhelming. At the same time, I’m tired of being stuck in the middle. My daughters think I’m making excuses for him, and my husband gets defensive whenever I bring up their feelings.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m a 75-year-old woman who has lived in the same charming walk-up apartment in New York City for more than 40 years.
The perfect Lutheran hymn is “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You” for the weeks before Christmas, but shoppers will never hear it between Muzak versions of “Jingle Bells” and “White Christmas” in their local malls.
• There’s no need to buy shredded paper or gift-bag filler from a store when you can easily make your own. Older paper shredders are great for turning scrap paper or junk mail into filler. You can also invest in a pair of shredder scissors, which let you manually create long paper strips. Use the homemade paper fill to cushion fruit in gift baskets or to protect fragile items when shipping.
Ihate getting sick.
After two National Guard members were gunned down by an immigrant from Afghanistan, President Trump immediately seized on the shooting to escalate nativist fears of foreigners.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My colleague has a tendency to be unapologetically late, and I can’t stand it! We’ve traveled together in the past for work, and I have seen firsthand how careless he can be with his time – even for work functions.
Dear Doctors: This weird thing keeps happening where it feels like the sock in my left shoe has gotten wadded up underneath the ball of my foot. Every time I check, nothing is wrong. Is something wrong? My health insurance isn’t very good, so deciding to see a doctor is a big deal.
Nearly four years ago, on Jan. 18, 2022, I wrote about a frenzy that was sweeping the anti-Trump world. It had to do with a novel theory of the 2020 presidential election dispute: Here’s the short version: Trump supporters in a few states – Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, and New Mexico – were so brazen that in the days before Dec. 14, 2020, when the Electoral College voted to confirm (former President) Joe Biden’s victory, they actually forged documents falsely purporting to be Electoral College results for (President Donald) Trump and sent them to the appropriate authorities in Washington and in their home states. They then planned to use the forgeries to steal the election on Jan. 6, 2021. All the while, they hoped no one would notice.