FEATURES
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016
3C
Teen’s birthday party at the mall Tomorrow’s horoscope
Dear Annie: My 13-year-old
daughter has been invited to her clos-
est friend’s birthday party. The mom
of the birthday girl plans to drop off
the six girls at the mall for four hours,
during which they’ll wander around
with money, cellphones, credit cards
and a plan to get food at some point.
I am not comfortable with this. I
called the mom and asked why she
isn’t going with them. Her daughter
doesn’t want her there. I suggested
the two of us go with the girls and
perhaps even let them go off on their
own for short periods and meet up
with them a few times. But no. She
wants her daughter to feel “indepen-
dent” and to give her her “space.”
Besides the safety issue, I don’t
like the idea of just going to the mall
to hang out. Not much good comes
from that. My daughter always
comes home wanting a bunch of stuff
she doesn’t need. When she buys
clothes or junk impulsively, it always
ends up in the trash or on the char-
ity pile a few months later. We’re on
a tight budget, and this is not in it. I
don’t mind getting her friend a birth-
day gift, but that’s different.
If it were anyone else, we’d just
skip it. But this is her closest friend,
so it would be devastating for both
of them if she didn’t go. But I really
don’t want her to go under these cir-
Dear Annie
By
Annie
Lane
Creators
Syndicate
Inc.
cumstances. — Between a Rock and
a Hard Place in Ohio
Dear Between: Personally, I
think your suggestion to the mom
was a bright idea. That being said,
it’s her daughter’s birthday, and they
can do what they want. Likewise,
you can make choices about what’s
right for your own family. If this mall
idea is absolutely unacceptable to
you, you are entitled to put your foot
down and explain that different fami-
lies have different rules.
But if you’d like to make an
exception and let your daughter
attend, lay down some ground rules
to help her be safe and responsible. 1)
She can only spend her own money
— and not too much of it. Set a limit
you feel is fair, such as $30-50. 2)
Cash only. No credit cards. 3) Have
her call to check in with you halfway
through the night.
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
There will come a time when she’s
always out shopping without Mom,
so this maybe the perfect opportunity
to get her practicing good habits.
Dear Annie: I read your col-
umn about the bride who invited a
co-worker to her wedding who asked
whether she could bring her boy-
friend. No wedding gift was received,
and the bride asked what to do.
I invited a co-worker to my wed-
ding, too, along with her husband.
We received gifts and cards from
everyone but her. I always say that
a card is more than enough and was
saddened by this lack of etiquette.
So I asked a friend of mine
whether he could mention it to her.
She had left the company, and I had
no contact with her. I didn’t want to
exclude her when I was sending my
thank-you notes. I thought that per-
haps she had given us a card and
we’d misplaced it. Her answer was
that she had found the gift under her
car seat and would mail it to me. I
never received the gift or a card.
I realized that some people are
just inconsiderate. We had a wonder-
ful wedding, and I refused to let any-
one ruin even a minute of it. I real-
ized that she was not really a friend at
all, and her total lack of etiquette was
how I choose to view her. — Disap-
pointed Bride in California
ARIES (March 21-April 19). When you
hear the other person call, but you don’t
feel any urgency to answer it — that’s a
sign you want to look into a little further.
You’ll find that your reasons are valid.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Leave the
past behind. That was the old you. Ahead
is the new you. There are people who don’t
even know you, and this is the person
they’ll think is the only you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Building
needs stability. Whether it’s a relationship,
a business or an actual building, stability
is among the first tenants of the build. A
person who is in turmoil is not a person
you can build with.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ve
wide-open eyes today, and what you see
is that there are many hard things in life.
Good news: They don’t all come at once.
This is a huge benefit! The pacing of
things is definitely on your side.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Everything is
impossible until it’s done, and soon after
it’s de rigueur. That thing you want to do —
well, you need to put a little more mind and
elbow into it, that’s all. Soon it’s as good
as done.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your way is
right. Your heart is true. Your vision is the
best for all involved. Now, the thing is, with-
out getting the others on board, none of
that will matter. Go and be charming!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The unex-
pected thing. This is how it happens. You
don’t mind it when it’s happening to you,
but when the unexpected thing happens
to another, you might find that hard to
watch.
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your tem-
per is like the black box of an airplane. It’s
locked away with a log of everything that
happened before. If all goes well, it will
never be significant. And usually all goes
well.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). If
you should give your heart to someone
and that person, it turns out, takes the re-
sponsibility very seriously, this is among
the best things in life to be cherished, and
cherish it you will.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What
in the world would you do without XYZ?
The answer is, truly, you’d go on. But XYZ
makes it all so much better. And this is as
good a time as any to celebrate XYZ. Do it!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Love
needs a gesture. It needs a signal. It’s a
feeling that doesn’t mean much without its
expression. Don’t feel love; do love. Love
needs to be done today.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The ca-
sual answer does not always convey the
casual feeling. Look past it; hear through
it. Use the intuition that is your cosmic gift.
That might be unfair, as you’re always us-
ing it — but are you always trusting it?
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 19).
Your birthday boon is the answer to a
question that’s been plaguing you. May-
be this comes in the form of a person
you lost track of or a dream you let go of.
Well, it’s all coming back now. In the year
2017 you’ll dance your way into someone’s
heart, and you’ll find that someone has
taken residence in yours, too. Cancer and
Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are:
20, 1, 11, 24 and 3.