Opinion

Dear Amy: I am very upset. I have a best friend, “Lizzie.” Lizzie and I have been best friends since we attended daycare together, and now we are juniors in high school.

Every season leads to another season seemingly. We are now exiting the Christmas season and leaning into the resolution season. Right about now gyms are filling up, diets are being launched, and the self-help industry is having its “black Friday.”

I have a tendency, like many, to make New Year’s Resolutions--in good faith, of course--only to break them within a few weeks. They are always similar in nature. I see ways I could improve my life in some manner and set a goal to make “this” year better. I could be more organized. I could lose some weight. I could exercise more. I could clean my house more. I could spend less. Do any of these sound familiar?

There has been so much going on in our world lately, hasn’t there? Just when we thought things were on the upswing--another Covid outbreak, wind storms, loss of home, livestock, pets, livelihood, family members or friends. When the world seems to unendingly throw negativity and shadows our way, it is very difficult to see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. So, when asked what a spiritual goal for me would be in 2022, I really needed to step back and think, think, think.

Dear Amy: I am a 25-year-old female who has been single for over a year and a half, after my previous relationship of five years ended. At the end of this summer, I decided to venture out and start meeting people.

Dear Dr. Roach: I live in a very dry climate, and I struggle with dry skin all over my body. Lately I have been having a lot of dry, flaky skin in my ear canal. I have no ear pain, and my ears are not itchy. I believe I have dry skin in my ears, and I have been told by nonmedical professionals to put a couple drops of olive oil in my ears.

With record heat waves, tragic flooding and wildfires in the news, it’s hard not to have weather patterns top of mind. These challenges highlight the need to address the multi-faceted causes of climate change in Kansas.

Kansas can improve future health outcomes for families by extending health care for new mothers and infants. Unfortunately, significant racial disparities exist in maternal and child health.

Dear Amy: My boyfriend of almost three years is very childish. If I do something he does not like, he will try to “get me” back – or even the score in some way.