Horoscopes

Aries (March 21-April 19): When you stand where you can see, you stand where you can be seen. What should you expose, and what should you protect? This is the big decision of the day. Taurus (April 20-May 20): You may be detached from the place and time when a feeling was born, but there are portals that bring you back — symbols, images, smells — and you can feel it as sure as the first time. Gemini (May 21-June 21): Hardships strengthen people. Of course, it’s a concept that’s much more palatable in hindsight. While in the thick of it, a person may not feel strong at all, but getting to the other side is its own badge of endurance.

Cancer (June 22-July 22): You will fill in for something or someone who is absent. You do not have to be as the other would be. Do you in the space and everyone, including you, will learn something new. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Resistance may or may not be futile, but it’s certainly not the best way to get leverage. Turn into the force that comes at you. Give way, or join it. Then wait. You will sense your moment of power. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If you know exactly how much you’re going to win or lose, it’s not a risk; it’s a transaction. Doing a thing so many times that your prediction about the result is almost always right takes the risk factor plum out of the equation. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Tackle the most difficult issues first and the other ones will either suddenly seem like nonissues or actually be nonissues, swept into the current of bigger solutions. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): You’re in the process of a rebuild. This is not going to be what it was, but it’s also not an entirely new creation. You’ll take the best of what worked before and bring it into the future. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s silly to waste time on the question of who deserves what. Credit and blame are seldom distributed according to what people deserve. Focus on doing the most with what you have.

There may be dozens before you, but your eyes keep returning to only one. It’s because what you exchanged has become a tether secured firmly to the core of your attention. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What affects one person makes others feel vulnerable, as they realize the tenuous fragility that is life. This is why you like to spread good news wherever you find it. Today, you’ll find it in plenty. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): There are things that belong inside of you and things that would be better placed outside of you. You’re the one who gets to decide, though note that, as a rule, burdens get lighter when you share them.

DEAR ABBY » I became pregnant with my second child in 2013. When my extended family heard the news, it was not well-received, particularly by my grandmother and aunt-inlaw. They said things like, “We love you, but we’re embarrassed and ashamed.” My once loving grandmother said some particularly cruel things.I have to be honest — I was angry. I swore at her after she accused me of “using” my partner of 10 YEARS to get pregnant. The gossip and hateful comments from my family shocked me to my core. I wasn’t asking for a blessing, but unconditional love from this God-fearing woman was definitely expected.

Fast-forward to now: My grandmother continues to hold anger and resentment toward me. She says it’s because I’ve “sullied our family name.” I apologized for my outburst, but she won’t forgive me. Now my uncle is blaming me for her poor health! I have forgiven her, but when I took my kids to her house, she slammed the door in our faces. I’m at a loss about how to fix this. Should I say, “So long, farewell”? What can I do?

— Giant mess in Pennsylvania

DEAR MESS » The person responsible for your grandmother’s poor health isn’t you — it’s her. It’s not unheard of for people who hang onto anger and resentment the way she does to make themselves sick. That she would slam the door in the faces of her great-grandchildren is reprehensible.

You haven’t sullied the family name, and you cannot fix this by yourself. The healthiest thing you can do, for yourself AND your children, is move forward and don’t look back.

DEAR ABBY » My family and I are planning a get-together. It has been several months since we have been together because of the pandemic. Our younger brother has a new girlfriend who was introduced to everyone at the last get-together.

That day, one sister mentioned a political proposition that was up for a vote in her state. The new girlfriend kept repeating “No politics!” every time my sister started talking about it. My sisters and I think it was very rude.

Now the new girlfriend will be in my home, and I am sure politics will be a topic of conversation, considering the current economic, political and health crises going on. My family likes discussing current events, and I don’t feel we should be silenced because of a guest. How should this be handled so as to not offend and distance our brother’s new girlfriend, but allow us to continue having conversations that are meaningful to us as a family?

— Outspoken in Florida

DEAR OUTSPOKEN » Someone, preferably your brother, should have a chat with this woman before the next family gathering and make clear that your family enjoys talking about current events — politics included — and she does not have the right to dictate to the rest of you what you can or cannot talk about. If the subject makes her uncomfortable, she should either move to another room or skip the event. This does not have to be said unkindly, but the rest of you should not be expected to kowtow to her.

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 $16 (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.)