Dear Amy: I’m a 45-year-old woman, married to my wife for five years. My issue is my 21-year-old son, who lives with us. He’s a good kid but he’s now unemployed (for four months) and spends his days playing video games. My son is very book smart, had a full ride to a prestigious university, but only stayed for a year and a half. He recently applied for the police academy, but he never really follows through with anything. He also dropped out of the fire academy — because he was bored. He was working as a forklift operator while in school. He’s always done very well in school, but he’s lazy. I ..read more

In 1999, the U.S. women’s soccer team captivated sports fans across the globe when it won the World Cup and became the first team in the female league to do so on home soil. The championship title was a pivotal moment for women’s sports that inspired a generation of young girls, among them Miranda Spencer and Annie Weaver. “I remember the 1999 World Cup and the Fab Five and the rest of that group, the ’99ers,” said Weaver, who was 5 years old then. “That was the first time it was broadcast live and people were seeing women being extremely successful in a professional sport. Seeing them win, se ..read more

Colorado is known for producing some of the best beer in the world, but cocktail fans here also have access to bars where mixology keeps step with some of the nation’s best. Need proof? The 18th annual Spirited Awards, part of the esteemed Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans, recently announced its roster of 2024 regional honorees, which included three Denver bars. The annual competition is self-described as “honoring excellence in the drinks industry, showcasing the best of the global cocktail community.” The divey Yacht Club (3701 N. Williams St.) earned recognition in two catego ..read more

Dear Readers: Periodically, I publish “updates” to previous questions and answers published in this space. The following was published in 2018. The update follows the original Q&A. Dear Amy: I grew up with two siblings — a brother and a sister. My brother, his wife and three children lived near our parents. My family and I (wife, two children) lived some distance away. We maintained contact through holiday cards and drop-by visits. Everything was cordial, if not particularly close. In hindsight, all direct interaction with my folks was always at our initiation. Sadly, my brother passed awa ..read more

The last frost date for the Denver is May 4, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. Generally across the Front Range, you can count on closer to Mother’s Day weekend to begin warm-weather garden planting. Here are some May plant sales for Denver gardeners who want to prioritize locally grown, regionally adapted plants that support local organizations, nonprofits, or green-thumb individuals. At many of these sales, you can learn more about gardening practices and cool organizations and folks who grow. Happy planting! Organizations and nonprofit plant sales • Denver Botanic Gardens annual Spring Pla ..read more

I’ve completed 17 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles in the past 14 weeks. Mostly by myself. Over that same time, I also cut way back on booze, halved my phone screen time (okay, it’s maybe 30% less), and gone on a dozen hikes. All without losing a single cardboard piece. I never really saw myself as a puzzler, but it’s become a nice way to put aside the problems of the world and focus on something else for five or 10 minutes, or for a couple of hours. It helps with my sometimes short attention span, and puzzles are extremely satisfying to finish. And while 17 puzzles might sound like a lot, it’s noth ..read more

Dear Amy: I married a lovely man two years ago. We lived together for three years before marrying. We met as his first, long-term marriage was falling apart. We are both 70 years old. We spend most of our time together, but my husband has always kept most of the other parts of his life a bit removed from our marriage. He insists that he is faithful. In doing our tax prep, I found that four “visits to his dentist” are nonexistent, according to the insurance company. I believe he has lied about where he has been on those days when he claimed to have been at the dentist. We have, ad nauseam, disc ..read more

Dear Amy: My brother is due to get married next year and while I’m really happy for him, I’m dreading the idea of having to see my mother again. Our mom ticks all the malignant narcissistic personality disorder boxes: Emotionally immature and dysregulated, lacks empathy, disrespectful of boundaries, etc. I suffered horrendously growing up, but I was able to get away in my 30’s by leaving the country. My siblings have suffered in various ways, too. Our experiences growing up have meant that we are not close. This is partly because our mother has bad-mouthed us to each other over the decades. I ..read more

Dear Amy: Some of my family members are going to have a mini family reunion in Paris in a few months — the city where my brother lives. My brother’s son, wife and their two young children will be flying to Paris from Istanbul, and I will be flying in from the USA. My nephew’s family and I will be staying at the same hotel. Several times my brother has mentioned that his son and family are coming to Paris “especially to see the uncle from America.” So, in light of those repeated comments, do you think it would be necessary or rather the right thing to do for me to pay for my nephew and family’s ..read more

A ..read more