6A
FEATURES
Father missing face time
Dear Annie: My husband people who are feeling left
and I are in our 70s, and he is behind with the new tech world.
experiencing depression from — Hope to Hear One Day
lack of contact with his chil-
Dear Hope: It is under-
dren. I don’t mean Facebook, standable that your husband’s
because he sees them on there. feeling disconnected from his
They do not call like
children is causing sad-
DEAR
ness. But I am not so
they did in the past. I
sure that it is technol-
am sure they feel that
ANNIE
ogy’s fault so much as
since he can actually
the fault of miscommu-
see them on the screen,
nication. Technology is
he knows what they are
a blessing and a curse
up to and what they are
— a blessing because
doing. Thus, they think
it makes communica-
this is all we need to do.
We do not text
tion instant and easy,
Lane
either. We used to Face- Annie
and a curse because it
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Time but not anymore.
throws up a barrier to
When he calls them,
interactions that only
usually he can only leave a mes- come from being together in
sage because they rarely answer person. I would encourage you
the phone. If he does get hold and your husband to plan a trip
of them, the typical response is to visit his children face to face
that they are busy but they will and talk to them. Tell them how
call back, and then they almost much you enjoy talking on the
never do. We do not live in the phone and hearing their voices.
same state, so we don’t see Communicating via text and
them often.
social media is no way to main-
New technology is wonder- tain a relationship, especially an
ful for many things, but what- important and special one with
ever happened to actually hear- wonderful parents.
ing someone say, “I love you,
Dear Annie: I have a daugh-
Dad,” or “I love you, Grandpa”? ter who is a lovely person but
I am sure we are not the only has become very bossy and
super opinionated. She has not
always been this way. She is
married, but she and my son-in-
law have no children.
My problem is that every
time she comes home, she rear-
ranges the items in my pan-
try and refrigerator and throws
things away. She’s very critical.
So far as I know, she doesn’t
treat others this way. And my
other children do not act this
way with me. What do you
think is motivating this, and
what do you suggest I do? —
Miffed Mom
Dear Miffed Mom: I’d
be willing to wager that your
daughter is checking for expired
foods and getting rid of them
out of concern for you. Even
so, there’s no need for the criti-
cism, and she really should ask
your permission before throw-
ing anything away. Talk to her
about how this makes you feel.
Acknowledge that you appre-
ciate her desire to help but you
don’t appreciate the way in
which she conducts these pan-
try purges. Set some boundaries
you can live with. In the end, it
is your house, your rules. Your
daughter should respect that.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2018
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Paint the day with
bold strokes and leave the detail work for an-
other time, if it even comes to that. It’s a day of
experiments. You won’t know until you jump in.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re in the thick
of a complex task and still trying to get your
bearings. It will be a wobbly ride for a little
while, but soon enough you’ll develop a knack
and this section will seem like a mere blip.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Interaction doesn’t
have to be intense or constant to be meaning-
ful. Sometimes just being near one another, in
the same room, doing your own thing is more
than enough to bring a sense of comfort.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ve a new
interest. It’s intriguing but difficult. Don’t worry;
you can be talented at something without
being good at it. Sometimes the talent is just
a curiosity that drives you to practice and
inevitably improve.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Someone likes you,
thinks you’re bright, admires you and wants
to be around you more. Is that so surprising?
Perhaps — because either this person may
not readily show affinity, or the timing just
hasn’t seemed right yet.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re excellent
at mixing, matching and merging, and when
people go along with your suggestions every-
body wins. You’ll finally get the go-ahead to do
something you’ve wanted to do for a long time.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Think about it;
you’re actually living some of your childhood
schemes. Why stop scheming now? Let
yourself dream outrageously. Outcomes that,
at the moment, seem unlikely may not be as
far-fetched as you imagine.
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). You want to lay
the foundation for a big change. The trouble
is that you don’t really know how things will
culminate and what will develop. You only know
that it will be different from what’s happening
now. A sense of readiness is all you need.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). A good
friend will nurture your idiosyncrasies and love
you for the parts of you that don’t conform to
her expectations or his beliefs. A good friend
wants you to be more of who you already are.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You some-
times wish you were better at affairs of the
heart. Then again, people who seem to be in
control of their “feels” are possibly not feeling
them as deeply as you are.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Surprising
events wake you up like cold water to the face.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t see it before. You
were looking at other things. No matter. Now
that you’re aware, new options will open for
you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). What good is a
support system if you never lean on it? Sure,
it’s nice to know it’s there. You’d do well to test it
out every once in a while, too. Check in and let
yourself be a little vulnerable with the people
who love you.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 7). You
have advantages you’ve never considered.
Someone will show them to you, or cause you
to see them for the first time, so that you may
use these talents and boons of position to
leverage you into the place you most want to
be. This mix of luck, talent and opportunity will
repeat no less than 10 times this year. Libra
and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are:
9, 2, 22, 18 and 45.