DEAR ABBY: A year ago my 13-year marriage fell apart. My husband, “Rick,” will be spending the next six years in prison. I am 32 and have two boys, ages 13 and 15.

The Bears backup quarterback, Chase Daniel, will earn around $7 million over the next two years — not bad for a veteran who (up until Thanksgiving weekend) had started in just two games and attempted just 78 passes in nine seasons as a pro. But over the holiday, he came off the bench and com…

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my husband for five years, and we have two children together. It’s my husband’s second marriage and my first. He and his first wife, “Gretchen,” had no kids, but they did have a long and messy divorce. She and her family live in the same small town as we do. Her f…

Dear Readers: O Christmas tree! Have you put yours up yet? There’s still time. In fact, experts agree that a live Christmas tree shouldn’t stay in your home for more than two weeks. Here are some hints for selecting a beautiful, live Christmas tree:

DEAR ABBY: My husband of 10 years is in the process of retiring from the military and is now re-evaluating “procedures” and “policies” of everything — including our marriage. I’m trying to respect his needs in an effort to help him make sense of things. However, there are times when I feel s…

The original cradle song — “Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht (Lullaby: Good Evening, Good Night)” — was written by German composer Johannes Brahms in 1868. Now known as “Brahms’ Lullaby,” this nighttime classic is still used by parents around the world to get their little ones to sleep.

DEAR HELOISE: What is the correct way to carve up a pineapple? My wife slices it down the sides and gets too much of the pulp and skin. We read you daily in the Los Angeles Daily News.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have three wonderful grandchildren who live with our daughter and son-in-law in another state. Our daughter will not allow us to take the children out to lunch, shopping, for ice cream or anywhere without the parents coming with us.

DEAR HELOISE: Given the cost for checked bags and problems with carry-ons, when my wife flew, we BOXED UP everything she’d need, from clothes to toothbrush, and mailed it about two weeks before she would get there.

IN THE 1976 movie “Taxi Driver,” Robert De Niro practices some moves in front of a mirror while saying, “You talkin’ ta me?” Well, new research from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Karlstad University in Sweden is talkin’ to us all.

DEAR ABBY: I am an older IT professional (58) who had a very successful career until a year ago. I was part of a major layoff at the company I worked at for many years. I have not been able to find a job in the IT field since.

Dear Readers: Today’s “sound off” is about irresponsible drivers.

There are a lot of you out there — more every day, it seems — who are finding out that you’re either intolerant of or allergic to lactose (the sugar in milk) or cow’s-milk protein.

DEAR ABBY: Many wives write you about problems with their husbands who drink too much. If they live in a community property state, there’s something important they need to know. If the husband drives drunk and causes an injury, both the wife and husband may be named as co-defendants — even i…

DEAR HELOISE: What are the best times to travel? My husband and I want to go to Europe, but my husband hates crowds and waiting in line.

DEAR ABBY: Our youngest son recently married a woman who has an 18-year-old disabled daughter, “Lauren.” The girl’s mental level is between that of a 2- and 4-year-old. There have been physical confrontations between my new daughter-in-law and her disabled daughter, which are becoming more f…

DEAR ABBY: I gave birth to my daughter three months ago, after 44 grueling hours of labor. My mother, assuming I would want her in the delivery room, booked her flight, flew across the country and stayed at my house without asking when I’d like her to come to help me.

DEAR HELOISE: Could you tell me the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of cutting board surfaces? Thanks!

DEAR ABBY: I am a 53-year-old woman who is a sexual abuse survivor. This has consumed every aspect of my life. It started when I was around 2, I believe, and was a daily occurrence until I was 14. My abuser was my paternal grandfather, now deceased.

DEAR READERS: Temperatures should be chilly over most of the country now. Have you given thought to the PIPES in your home? Water expands in the cold weather — this can put pressure on your pipes.

DEAR ABBY: I thought I had a best friend. We got to know each other when we worked together for almost four years. He’s straight, I’m gay and we’re total opposites. However, he taught me how to fish and took me shooting at his family’s ranch; we would go to dinners/lunches and go to the city…

Science Center to host December vacation camp

MANCHESTER — The holidays can be especially difficult for seniors who live alone and may be feeling isolated socially.

DEAR ABBY: The holiday season is here, with the traditional family dinner get-togethers. Our problem is, our two children (ages 27 and 29) don’t like each other and rarely have contact during the year. This creates such stressful holiday meals that my wife and I would prefer to simply not ha…

Dear Readers: Today’s “sound off” is from a reader who believes we’ve lost the meaning of the holidays.