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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2018)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2018 FEATURES Mom exhibits gross habits Dear Annie: My mother is I love her so dearly, and yes, 82 years old. I love her greatly I know she may have a compul- and know I’m lucky to still have sion, but I’m to the point where her in my life. All my siblings I don’t think I can invite her for live out of state, so my husband dinner anymore. She goes to the and I have Mom to our house for senior center for lunches during dinner and games once a week, the week but doesn’t cook, and we like to make sure she which we all enjoy. DEAR gets healthful food over There’s an issue, how- ever, with which I need the weekend. (We send ANNIE your help. leftovers home with Mom seems to have her.) lost her sense of appro- These years together priate grooming habits in in the latter part of her front of others. For one, life should be treasured, she picks at scabs all the but I’m being robbed time, although I’ve gen- of them, and I feel both Lane tly — and then more Annie angry and guilty for not Creators Syndicate Inc. assertively — asked her being able to tolerate her not to. Every time I see behavior. her doing this, I ask her to wash She reads your column. her hands with soap, but she dis- Maybe you can get through to misses my requests. her and others about the inap- Another issue is that she propriateness of these things. doesn’t like denture adhesives, Please remind us all of proper so she usually uses her finger to grooming habits for public and wipe out food that gets trapped private places. — Wish She’d in the gaps. Sometimes she’ll Stop use a fork to try to scrape things Dear Wish She’d Stop: As out, which is not much better. your mom ages, she may find it I’ve asked her to go to the bath- more challenging to complete room (only 10 feet away), where simple tasks such as shower- she could remove her dentures ing and brushing her teeth and and rinse them thoroughly, but hair. Very often, people in their 80s tire more easily or get cold she refuses. or hot sooner than the rest of us. If they have dementia, a multi- step task can feel overwhelming. What you are describing seems less like personal daily hygiene and more like completely inap- propriate behavior that must be addressed. I’d suggest that you have her assessed for dementia. If this is new behavior, then it is pretty clear that she has some form of mental deterioration that is causing her to act so inappro- priately at the dinner table. Dear Annie: I am very dis- appointed with your advice to avoid doing business with friends. I am a real estate agent; would you advise me to never make any friends at all so that I am free to do business with anyone? How ridiculous of you to make such a statement. Half of my business has been with my friends over 15 years. — Disappointed Dear Disappointed: You’re right. Though I think it’s an area into which people should pro- ceed with caution, it’s possible and sometimes very positive to do business with friends. That statement was a bit rash and over-generalizing. I’m printing your letter to correct the record. 5A TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll say the words, take the actions, make the commit- ments that fix things, knowing full well that you could just as easily, with other words, actions and promises, blow them apart. are always a risk. The risk is not that they will be bad; the risk is that they will be good. To leave a bad relationship is a rather obvious choice. A good relationship often brings both reward and limitation. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Methods for im- provement come and go. So do styles of dress, food, entertainment. ... Some of yesterday’s “normal” now seems barbaric. With an eye to the future, something about your current life needs immediate change. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You feel like you know what you want, but don’t be surprised if you get it and find out that it wasn’t a good fit. Humans are notoriously bad at knowing what will make them happy. Continue the experiment, and have fun with it. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You become part of whatever you’re experiencing, and it becomes a part of you. It’s a truth you’ll feel today, and it just might change your mind and involvement with certain environments. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You make the plan and your crew will follow it. You’ll get both credit and blame, and both are good. You make life interesting and memorable for those around you. CANCER (June 22-July 22). It’s good to be a little careful about what you say and how you present yourself, but if you’re too careful it’s un- comfortable for all. Trust that you’re acceptable. Accept yourself and they will, too. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your personal experience with a full range of human error coupled with the disappointment it has caused you will make it all the more difficult for you to believe the best in others, and yet you will. You are to be commended. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The world is shifting before your eyes today. Someone you admire is a big part of this. You like how this person sees the world, and it changes your view, which changes what you choose to look at. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re charged with the responsibility of creating yourself, your happiness, the meaning you derive from life. It’s a privilege, a pleasure and a lot. You’re not always up for it. Rest will refresh you. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re attractive whether or not you want to be or try to be. This makes your life slightly complex. You’ll be in a position to step lightly, dodge trouble and move quickly to avoid getting detoured from your goal. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Relationships 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 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). It has never been hard for you to understand that people in the general public matter. You may never see them again, and yet each is an important individual whom you pride yourself in treating with the utmost respect. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 1). There’s quite a history back there, and you’ll put it to good use. You don’t have to look backward to do this. Trust that you’ve already learned from it and you now have everything you need to build toward the idea you’ve created about what you’re supposed to be and do next. Go make your vision real. You’ve got this. Libra and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 42, 10, 13 and 8.
