Opinion

April Showers have arrived at my neck of the plains and I couldn’t be happier. At least for a while.

Dear Eric: Over the years I noticed one of my spouse’s sisters seemed generally overly sensitive with sudden emotional outbursts and a tendency to play the victim.

Dear Readers: On March 16, I shared a letter from “Mother of Three,” who lost her daughter five years ago and felt unsure about how to respond when people ask, “how many children do you have?” A number of readers wrote in with thoughtful and empathetic suggestions. I’d like to share four with you today.

A friend of mine from Back East is coming to Kansas this week to spend a few days in the Land of Ahs. He has been here before, but like a lot of people all he really remembers is the I-70 run from Kansas City to the Colorado line, which I think we can all admit is not a very true or flattering representation of our state.

Dear Eric: I have a friend who I've known since childhood. Our relationship has always been platonic. Through the years we have gone our separate ways but always stayed in touch. I was living in another state when he had and beat cancer.

Dear Eric: Recently, it was “assumed” by my husband’s family that we would host a gathering for some out-of-town relatives. We have a better house for entertaining.

Living on gravel, as many of you no doubt do, can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it usually means you reside away from the usual town and city hubbub.

Dear Eric: My son is married; his wife is the chief breadwinner. They keep their finances separate; he pays half of everything, even though it is a real stretch for him.

I promise I will not talk about my ducks and chickens, whose exploits and malfunctions I have burdened you with in many a column, except to say that my biggest disappointment with these critters is that my daffy ducks simply will not go into my pond, which is why I got them in the first place. But guess what? Geese will! Every year just after Christmas about 50 or 60 Canada Geese decide to winter (or summer) on my one acre pond.

Dear Eric: I am a 75-year-old professional woman married to a great 74-year-old Ph.D. who works in Pharma and has no desire to retire.