Dear Blake,
My wife recently came back from a gold/silver/coin merchandiser event and told me she had sold an old U.S. $5 gold piece (for probably less than it was worth). I was hurt, not only because I have a coin collection and would have been interested in knowing about and seeing the coin, but also because she didn’t seem to understand how disappointed and hurt I was. She gleefully announced she was going to use the proceeds to purchase an exercise bike.
I took a two-hour walk to work off my feelings and then skipped dinner because I had lost my appetite. Sometimes I feel that my feelings don’t matter to her — that it’s “her way or the highway.” Should I let this incident go and move on, or is a long “crucial conversation” called for?
Signed Ted
From Santa Fe, New Mexico
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Dear Ted,
Your wife appears to be a very selfish woman. The only fair and reasonable thing for you to do, is to sell something of hers that’s extremely important, and either ignore or laugh at her grief regarding her loss. Here are some ideas. Do you have a small dog that she really loves? Give him away to a family who will love and take care of it, but tell your wife you sold the mongrel to a man that breeds pythons. Or, take your wedding ban to a pawn shop, and tell your wife, you were sick and tired of single women not giving you the attention that you deserve… and crave. How about this one. Sell her car without telling her until you’ve signed over the title to the new owner. And if she starts calling Uber, tell her that she’s wasting money and then hand her the local bus schedule that picks up people in rough neighborhoods. And finally, this last tactic will get her attention for sure. While in bed at night, tell her you need some quick cash to buy some rare coins. When she asks you where you plan to get the money, softly tell her to go to sleep, and then ask her if she would hold it against you if she woke up in the morning with just one kidney? I hope this helps.
Blake