Last year about this time, I had gone way out on a limb with ambition. The little town I live in has a cute downtown area and it was in need of a make over. You know, the kind that takes 10,000 gallons of paint, hours of power washing and days of weed pulling.

Thanks to The Home Depot and 500 volunteers, it came together beautifully and the spirit of the community came alive in a story book kind of way. I want to do it again this year. And this year, I want to find a new town, a new community, a neighborhood… some place that you see that could  use the love and care of a community to come together and make it all look new and vibrant again. So if you have ideas, I want you to send them to me.

The Home Depot's along my side, with plenty of ladders, lots of Glidden Paint, Ryobi power sprayers, ScotchBlue™ tape and lots of caulk by DAP… we just need your input on a community to bless. So… write to me… we'll investigate them all and pick a town that we can...paint! Paint the town. From my friends at The Home Depot.?

Email me at paintthetown@delilah.com with your ideas! Click here for tips and tools from The Home Depot to start your own painting projects

My story is a little complicated. I was dating a married woman for a long time. Her being married was not a problem. I loved her so much and I was always there for her. Her husband was physically and verbally abusive to her and I was always there wiping her tears or lending my shoulder to cry on. I have been asking her to leave him for the sake of her and her children. Now suddenly, she blows me off and tells me that her husband is a new man and that he is going to fix every mistake he ever made. After so many years of being there for her and going through all this with her, she now treats me like a stranger and the worst part is she does not realize how broken-hearted she left me! The more I think back and wonder what it is I did wrong, I just can't find an answer. What should I do with this broken heart of mine? I can't give her up. Please advise me. Jesse

My Advice:

This is not going to be easy for you but it comes from my heart. You were in love with her but she was not in love with you. She was in need of you. She needed you to lean on, to dry her tears. She needed you to fix her and make her life bearable. If her husband truly is emotionally and physically abusive and she is staying with him and subjecting her children to that, she is a sick woman. Healthy people cannot stay in unhealthy relationships. You are not Superman and you are not God and it's not your job to rescue her. Perhaps there will come a day in her life where she wakes up and says enough is enough, I'm going to break free of this. But until that day comes there's nothing you can do but walk away. Delilah