Horoscopes

Aries (March 21-April 19): If you can manage to delay the usual knee-jerk verdicts that humans love to form in the first 10 seconds of another’s presentation, you’ll set off a series of sweet events, all made possible by your act of listening. Taurus (April 20-May 20): Make sure you’re on the same track with the other person; that way, you’ll avoid the problems that come with making assumptions. Tonight you’ll get the chance to show the team that you play fair. Gemini (May 21-June 21): With most things you tackle today, the result will be better if you delay the payoff for as long as possible. It will work in everything from relaying information to governing your own willpower. Cancer (June 22-July 22): There’s so much you could say on matters, but since you’re all too aware of the short attention spans that most people have, you’ll aim your words toward a particular destination and leave out anything that doesn’t fit the bill. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): You’ll come across those who’ve yet to discover their own depths. Maybe they are afraid or haven’t had any reason to dig deep. Or maybe they’ve lacked role models. Regardless, the relationship can only go as deep as the shallowest person. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): To suspect that you’re the underdog isn’t exactly an uplifting feeling, although you can take heart in the fact that everyone loves an underdog. Go forward in full faith that you have a chance at victory. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Humans love to assign reasons for things that happen, to bridge the gaps of logic and close every case. The trouble is that what follows is often praise or blame. And sometimes there really is no definitive “responsible party.” Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): No one ever influenced the world by being the same as everyone in it. But if you don’t seem at least somewhat like the others, they’ll mistrust you. Group acceptance will be required. Start with what you all have in common. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s as if you were designed for adventure. When the others are afraid to go first, your trailblazing nature takes over. March forward and the others will follow. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s fun to be in unfamiliar places when you have a guide. But today there probably won’t be a clear model, and you’ll have to make due by observing the people around you who seem to know what they’re doing. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Like a nice neighborhood that wants to preserve the peace, your life could use a few speed bumps — constructs you’ve put in place specifically to slow yourself down, thus preventing accidents. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): The scenario is fresh, and you’re still deciding who you want to be. Consider what each role requires. For instance, winners take chances. Heroes take risks to help others. VIP’s make others feel important.

To write to Holiday Mathis, visit www.creators.com/ author/holiday-mathis and click “Contact.” DEAR ABBY » My husband and I argue more than I’d like. I am pretty easygoing and passive; he likes his feelings to be known. Over time I have become worn down, and my patience has worn thin.

We are starting to rebound from what I call “the year from hell.” His drinking and poor choices nearly put us on the street, and I was ready to walk. Things are starting to get better, but what we can’t seem to agree on is communication during the day.

Abby, I am on the phone for a living. I cannot stand being on it more than I must be. He calls and/or texts me up to 12 times a day. I can’t stand it. Even when I’m busy or give him a time certain when I will call him back, he beeps in before I have the chance.

I am now at the end of my rope. With all that I have dealt with, worked through and put up with, this is something I will not compromise on.

I feel it’s more than sufficient to talk on my way in to work, maybe check in around lunch, then on the way home. He feels that because I don’t feel the need to call or talk that much that I don’t love him. I can’t stand listening to the dead air or breathing because there is nothing to talk about. Am I being petty for letting this be the thing that will break us?

— Talks too much in Texas

DEAR TALKS TOO MUCH » If you want to save your marriage after everything you have been through, make the time for marriage counseling. What may destroy your marriage isn’t your husband’s talking; it’s his neediness, insecurity and insensitivity.

Frankly, what you have described strikes me as controlling rather than loving behavior. After the struggles you have described, you have already proven your love for him. Being at his beck and call during the workday should not be an additional requirement.

DEAR ABBY » My sister-in-law is extremely allergic to cats. We have six cats, but live 1,000 miles away from her. When her 8-year-old son comes to visit, he has a Ziploc bag full of clean clothes that he puts on before he goes home. The clothes he wore here are sealed up at the end of his trip to be washed.

I’m OK with this. But I need some advice for an upcoming big family holiday gathering. We have all been courteously asked to wash our clothes before coming, to vacuum our vehicles and to limit our contact with cats before arriving. Am I wrong to feel like it’s her problem, not ours?

— Whose problem is it

DEAR WHOSE PROBLEM » Yes, you are wrong. When a family member has a health problem that can be triggered by the others, it becomes everyone’s problem. If the steps needed to keep her safe are too much for you, you should stay home.

DEAR ABBY » Is it cheating to proofread your college-aged child’s final before he/she turns it in? — Wondering in Orange, Calif.

DEAR WONDERING » To read it? No. To correct it, yes.

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 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: “Abby’s Favorite Recipes” and “More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)