Reader feels chatty friend will ruin their get-together
Aries (March 21-April 19)
If you tap into your intuition and consider the best-case scenario, you will be left with a big smile. Understand where someone else is coming from. Taurus (April 20-May 20)
You tend to stabilize others. An interaction with a water sign will pave the path to greater caring and sensitivity. Understand the role and meaning of this person in your life. Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You’ll recognize that you need more stability; however, your finances seem to be perpetually changing. Your ability to talk to an authority figure can be healing. Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Tension surrounds your domestic life, especially in a real-estate matter. For now, keep your thoughts to yourself. You will learn more at a later point. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Step back from a negotiation, at least for the moment. You might not have all the facts, or perhaps you have misread the situation. This year you see a matter differently from how you have in the past. You demonstrate unusual sensitivity and empathy, and many people recognize these new qualities of yours. Your image might become more important to you as well, as you are likely to become more dominant in the community and the business world. If you are single, you will meet many new people. Don’t just assume that the first person you meet will be The One. If you are attached, the two of you will decide to move forward and enhance your commitment. Schedule plenty of downtime together. CANCER can be annoying at times.
What the stars
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Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
You are likely to take charge and do whatever you need to do without others reacting. Your fast entry displays determination that can’t be held back. Understand the liabilities involved if you don’t take action. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
You could be in a situation where a decision is needed. Others who can’t or don’t want to make the call will look to you. If you make a choice, whatever the issue is will become your responsibility on some level. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You could be quite tired of what is happening around you until someone grabs your creative interest in a project. You might need to make some big adjustments. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Defer to others who might be more organized and/or enthusiastic than you. That type of energy and precision could make all the di erence in the outcome. Know when to delegate. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Defer to someone else who seems to be more upbeat than you are. Ask others what they need from you. Follow through, then free yourself up. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Keep conversations moving. You might be uncomfortable with what you are hearing from an acquaintance. On the other hand, you also could be pleasantly surprised. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
You have a way about you that allows greater give-and-take with others. You are able to see many di erent facets of an issue. Sometimes this ability can add an element of confusion.
Jacqueline Bigar is at www.jacquelinebigar.com. Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.
The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to
Sunday.
Dear Annie: My husband and I are friends with another couple in our neighborhood.
The problem is, “Susie” is very loud and an extremely poor conversationalist. She dominates the get-togethers by talking about nonsense, and she constantly repeats herself. She interrupts everyone’s conversations with, “Oh, I’ve done that,” and o she goes about herself. Susie’s husband doesn’t seem bothered by this, but it drives me nuts.
We have out-of-town family visiting soon and these neighbors have invited themselves over. How do I tell them they aren’t welcome because we don’t want them to have to tolerate Susie’s bad behavior?
— Frustrated Friendship
Dear Frustrated: There is nothing wrong with telling Susie and her husband that you want to spend some private time with your family. Should they drop by uninvited, you can introduce them and let them say hello, but then nicely usher them out, telling Susie that you will visit with them when you are less occupied with family members. But please don’t assume that your relatives will find Susie as annoying as you do. For a brief visit, she could be perfectly tolerable. The trick is to keep it extremely short.
Dear Annie: I was saddened and upset by the letter from “Angry Sis,” whose brother “John” stopped speaking to his 83year-old mother after she asked him to testify against his abusive stepfather.
John’s attitude may stem from the anger he rightfully feels toward his mother for her failure to protect him. When one parent is an active abuser and the other one fails to protect, the children are left in painful circumstances. Sis, too, may be directing her anger at John instead of her mother.
I hope that Sis will seek therapy because she was also a victim. I sincerely pray that she may be the catalyst to help this family heal while Mom is still alive.
—S.
Dear S.: Many readers weighed in on this letter, saying that Sis did not quite comprehend the level of John’s own trauma and possible anger after having been abused as a child, especially when Mom went to court to protect his half-brother, but didn’t do the same for him. We, too, hope she can help the family heal.