Dear Abby: I don’t love him, but I’m thinking he might be the smart choice

DEAR ABBY I have been divorced from my ex-husband for a year and a half Related Articles Dear Abby How should I warn them about what s happening in the breakroom Dear Abby His wife won t speak to him for months at a time What should he do Dear Abby He s hurt when I call him she Was my response out of line Dear Abby Is it OK to keep this secret from the priest Dear Abby I had to skip the wedding because of the expense My friend hasn t spoken to me since My nearly adult children live with me They rarely see their dad Our divorce was relatively painless but the custody battle was prolonged and greater part of my savings were drained in the process My ex pays child aid but I m still struggling financially to raise two growing teenagers and I m worried about them going off to college A sparse months ago I reconnected with a childhood friend I ll call Rob We have rediscovered our friendship and see each other often He in recent days expressed interest in a romantic relationship Abby I m still in love with my ex-husband It wasn t my choice to separate and although Rob is very sweet I don t feel at ease moving on so hurriedly However he has a high-paying job and when we occasionally go out to dinner he dependably pays the bill I m afraid I won t be able to afford my kids college without his financial patronage I m torn between my love for my children and my continued love for my ex-husband Should I pursue this relationship even though I don t feel the same ANGUISHED IN ALBUQUERQUE DEAR ANGUISHED Tell Rob you are still not over your divorce and while you like him very much and enjoy his company you are not ready for a romantic relationship It is the truth and he deserves that As to the fact that you think you still love the husband who wished the divorce it s time to accept that the marriage is history Once you do that you may find a future with Rob more to your liking DEAR ABBY I am someone who calls friends but they never call back When I call they are happy to hear from me the conversations are lively and fun and the friends say they love it when I call I do not call often and I don t feel I m making a nuisance of myself However like I reported they don t call back I can understand not hearing from newer friends but I resent not hearing from ones I ve had my whole life I could have died and they couldn t bother to find out if I m OK or get an update on my life I know I should drop them and move on but I can t I need help with that These are people I ve never had a cross word with Something it could be an upcoming holiday reminds me of them and I want to make contact Related Articles Asking Eric Should I sign my husband s name when I confront his old girlfriend Harriette Cole All my boyfriends have the same bad trait and I m tired of it Miss Manners Is it really that weird to ask the server to pick my meal for me Dear Abby How should I warn them about what s happening in the breakroom Asking Eric My partner embarrassed me with his behavior toward our neighbor Why do people do this to people they say they love and care about PERPLEXED IN FLORIDA DEAR PERPLEXED People behave this way because they are stressed busy or distracted The majority of the time it isn t personal Not everyone is a caller like you are If you want to maintain these relationships you have to be prepared to do the calling I m not saying this to be judgmental or to make excuses for them it s just a fact of life Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren also known as Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother Pauline Phillips Contact Dear Abby at www DearAbby com or P O Box Los Angeles CA