{"id":470250,"date":"2026-02-15T14:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T14:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/470250\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T14:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T14:41:08","slug":"ive-been-dating-someone-new-for-four-months-but-weve-only-kissed-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/470250\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve been dating someone new for four months\u2014but we’ve only kissed once"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating<\/a> \u201cRita\u201d for four months. We peck on the lips, hug and hold hands, but we have had only one real kiss so far. Rita was first married for 22 years to an emotionally abusive man and then remarried to a manipulative one<\/a>. She said we were going too fast and she wanted to slow down. I understood and have exerted no pressure on her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rita has cancelled dates for various reasons and gone silent for a day here and there. She says she\u2019s not talking to anyone else, and neither am I. I have told her she is worth the wait. I have fallen hard for her and have serious intentions about her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rita says she has strong feelings for me and that I treat her better than any man she has ever been involved with, but she doesn\u2019t know how to handle the feelings. How long should I give her to figure out what she wants this relationship to be?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not worried about sex<\/a> or anything like that, but four months without even calling us \u201cdating\u201d or \u201cgirlfriend and boyfriend\u201d has me worried that I am, for a lack of a better description, wasting my time with her. What would you advise me to do? \u2014 TAKING IT SLOW IN VIRGINIA<\/p>\n

DEAR TAKING IT SLOW: Continue allowing your relationship with Rita to develop slowly. The woman has had two unsuccessful marriages, so it\u2019s no wonder she\u2019s slow to commit. If, after a year (eight months from now), Rita still feels uncomfortable calling you \u201cboyfriend\u201d or \u201ccompanion,\u201d revisit the conversation and decide then if you have invested enough time.<\/p>\n

DEAR ABBY: After reading so many horrible letters sent to you from people about their mothers-in-law, I feel compelled to write to you about mine. I met her 43 years ago when I was dating her oldest son (now my husband). From the moment we met, she treated me with caring, acceptance and love. She and my father-in-law raised five amazing children, and they treated their children\u2019s spouses as if we were their own. She devoted her entire life to caring for and nurturing her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we just lost this beautiful woman at the age of 89 to a long and difficult battle with Parkinson\u2019s<\/a> and dementia<\/a>. We watched her \u201csparkle\u201d slowly fade away, but we will carry her amazing legacy with us always. I hope I can be half the MIL to my children\u2019s spouses that she was to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also hope that all those who aren\u2019t as lucky as I was can find some common ground with their mothers-in-law \u2014 especially if there are children involved. I LOVE YOU, MOM! \u2014 FORTUNATE IN NEW YORK<\/p>\n

DEAR FORTUNATE: Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute to a woman who made such a positive difference in the lives of those she touched. Not only were you fortunate to be a member of such a warm and loving family, but she was also lucky to have a daughter-in-law like you.<\/p>\n

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 http:\/\/www.DearAbby.com<\/a> or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.<\/p>\n

To order \u201cHow to Write Letters for All Occasions,\u201d send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby \u2014 Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 446, Kings Mills, OH 45034-0446. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DEAR ABBY: I have been dating \u201cRita\u201d for four months. We peck on the lips, hug and hold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3045,46640,8830,15663,88,13656,149,32820],"class_list":{"0":"post-470250","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-abuse","9":"tag-dating-advice","10":"tag-dear-abby","11":"tag-domestic-abuse","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-in-laws","14":"tag-lifestyle","15":"tag-romance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}