Horoscopes

Aries (March 21-April 19): Since a person is only as beautiful as the mind he or she inhabits, education is the best beauty investment anyone could make. Tonight, you’ll add specialness to the lives of others. Taurus (April 20-May 20): It’s your week to get straight in your own mind what value you bring. Once you do this, it’s not long before the rest of the world pays you accordingly. First, the payment comes in energy. Then, it comes in dollars. Gemini (May 21-June 21): Brevity flatters almost anything you pick up today. Make quick work of your tasks and conversations and you’ll breeze through without getting ensnarled in a farrago of details. Cancer (June 22-July 22): Avoid making a case for what you can’t do. You have no idea, really, what you are capable of and will not know until after you have already accomplished it. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): The winds of responsibility blow you along the sea of life. You move as long as you put up your sail and let them push you. If you want to switch directions, you’re going to need something different: a motor. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’re becoming profoundly aware of what you really want. In fact, it’s hard to avoid. Reason has taken a back seat, and your desire is running the whole show today.

It would be very easy to become indulgent today, so ward off this potential. If you give something away for everything you bring in, you’ll be organized and efficient. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): You have values you don’t even know about. The way that you find them is by noticing and wondering about your own behavior, some of which will surprise you today. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If someone perceives you as being above them, it is only human nature to want to bring you down a notch. This is why the best leaders are always humble and as hardworking as those being led. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Even though you feel very good when you’re productive, it’s important to note that your worth doesn’t come from your productivity. Do it for the joy it brings you and others. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I can resist anything but temptation,” said Oscar Wilde, and even though you have strong power of resistance, you will be tested by the delicious things on offer today. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Deferred dreams are submarines, invisible below the water’s surface with the power to torpedo anything that’s sailing smoothly. Surface your aspirations. They are safer that way.

DEAR ABBY » I have come into contact with my first and forever love again after 30 years. We have had a few encounters throughout the years. When they happened, we fell right back into our comfort zone.

We both have current relationships with others that are not satisfying. We have both had failed relationships as well. No relationship I have ever been in compares to the one I have with this man. He’s successful and buries himself in his work. Even though he never says it, I know in my heart he has hidden feelings toward me as well.

This man has held my heart my entire life. I never stopped loving him. Do I finally tell him how I feel and risk possibly losing him forever, or should I remain silent and enjoy the encounters we have when they happen? — Wants it all in Pennsylvania

DEAR WANTS IT ALL » I think you should finally let this man know how you feel about him. If you do, it will either enable him to tell you he feels the same as you do, or stop you from fantasizing about a relationship that will never happen. If he is satisfied with the status quo, it doesn’t necessarily mean these encounters will end, but at least you will know them for what they are.

DEAR ABBY » My mother has no faith in me, mostly because I have a disability. Even though it’s not that bad, she still doesn’t think I can do anything hard. Although I’m almost 40, she still tells me what to do and criticizes me in any way she can, including my parenting. I can’t spend a day with her without wanting to come home and take a bat to the walls.

I have a lot of anger inside, and I don’t trust her because she tends to tell her friends or family things I would rather were kept private. What can I do about this?

— Irritated in Illinois

DEAR IRRITATED » If this is any comfort, I receive letters with the same complaint as yours from readers who don’t have disabilities. If your children are healthy and doing well and your mother’s criticisms are baseless, my advice is to tune your probably well-meaning but overbearing mother out. Because she discusses things you confide in her with others, quit telling her anything you don’t want broadcast. It’s easier than trying to muzzle her. You might also consider seeing your mother less often, which could save your walls and the wear and tear on the bat you’re tempted to use after those encounters.

DEAR ABBY » I would like to propose a new word for general use. It’s “wasband.” Definition: male to whom I am no longer married. Reason: “Ex” seems a pejorative term. I didn’t want to add that burden to the baggage our kids may have picked up.

I have used it since the mid1990s. I began to think of a new term when I was in a social situation with my wasband, his wife and mutual friends. I bumped into a colleague and wasn’t quick enough to think of a polite term for my former husband, so I could only introduce him as “the father of my children.” I think “wasband” is a less awkward term. What do you think, Abby? — Lover of language in

Washington

DEAR L.O.L. » I think it is clever. The term is listed in the Urban Dictionary, and because you started using it so early shows you are one smart cookie.

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.