Q Dear Miss Abigail: How do couples live together and survive more than a few years? Signed, Sergio A Dear Sergio: Lucky for you I happen to own R. F. Horton’s On the Art of Living Together. I just love the fact that my copy has a wonderful little advert pasted to the inside cover: Another […]
Month: August 2010
How to Perpetuate the Honey-moon
This selection is in honor of my friend Kathy Feeney, who is taking the plunge this weekend and getting hitched to Jesse Chappell. Here’s some marriage advice for you both, all the way from 1880. Congrats, you crazy kids, you! 1880: How to Perpetuate the Honey-moon Continue your courtship. Like causes produce like effects. Do […]
What the Heck is Holding Me Back?
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I was introduced to this gorgeous Vietnamese girl by a friend of mine. While she was here for a training course, we went out a lot and had a really good time. We had a few very passionate times together, especially on her last day in my country. We still keep […]
Dangers of Elopement
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My boyfriend and I are considering eloping. What advice can you find for us? Signed, Desperately Wanting A Dear Desperately Wanting: While I’m all for running off to the Tunnel of Love in Las Vegas, my advice is not really what we’re here for. In case you have forgotten, this is the […]
What is the Proper Age for Marriage?
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What do you consider a proper age for a woman to get married? Signed, Considering A Dear Considering: So, my dear, you are thinking about taking the jump into eternal bliss. This is a very important decision for you to make, whatever age you are, so I’ve dug carefully through the […]
Etiquette for Engaged People
I’m just bursting with joy! My baby sister Jennifer Grotke and her wonderful guy Tony Perez announced their engagement this week, so of course I had to check out some advice for the recently engaged. This is from Lillian Eichler’s Etiquette in Public, first published in 1924. Congrats to the happy couple! 1924: Etiquette for Engaged […]
The Wedding-Day
This selection goes out to my dear friends Sarah Carter and Iain McPhie, who have a little event planned this weekend. The invite said something about “marriage,” so I decided to do a bit of research on the topic. I stumbled across this advice from J. R. Miller’s The Wedded Life regarding the much-anticipated wedding day, […]
“Can I, um, like, Marry Your Daughter?”
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What are the various older traditions (Victorian Era, for instance) for how to go about proposing? In particular, how and when to ask the bride-to-be’s father for her hand? Signed, Traditionalist A Dear Traditionalist: Ah, the 1880s. A time of proper manners and traditions. Who could ask for anything more? I […]
Am I in Love?
Q Dear Miss Abigail: How do I know if I’m in love? Signed, Rocky Road A Dear Rocky: Ah, one of those age-old questions that just never seems to die. At least you should take confort in the fact that you are not alone. Millions of people out there, including this writer, have wondered the […]
Man & Woman & the Golf That Came Between Them
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I have been dating a girl who I love for two years, on June 5th, 1999. She was frustrated with our relationship, we have never fought, or argued, I feel as if she is my soul mate, we can talk for hours, but obviously I never talked about the steps of […]