Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

Marduk wrote:I don't identify with the girl in this thread. For me personally, my greatest hope and dream is to have a wife and kids that love me, and want to do good. If I can manage that, I don't care if we are rich or poor, what I do for a living, what kind of house I live in, if my wife is gorgeous in the eyes of the world (she will definitely be beautiful to me, because I will love her. And yes, I know how corny that sounds, but it is still the truth.) or any of the other things that people have as goals.

So, I've already stated my opinion that I see a lot of hope and (true) meaning in this girl's future. But I'll say that I'm with you as far as where I stand, Marduk. I never wanted to marry a drop-dead gorgeous girl (girls like that intimidate me, to be honest). My wife is beautiful enough for me, and I'm happy with her; I wouldn't change a thing. And I never wanted to be a multi-millionaire, be famous, or win a Nobel prize. I just want a job that is satisfying and that provides for my family, including leaving me time to spend with them. And I want close friends, but not popularity. In short, I want a good life, but not necessarily an easy one or a fabulous one.

Marduk wrote:

TheAnswerIs42 wrote:In fact, my mother in law taught her children that mothers always clean after her kids because their job is going to school, and her job is to pick up after them. My husband literally does not know how to clean.

Also, this is just awful. I hope that these sort of attitudes are dissappearing [sic].

Alas, as the population steadily increases, eradicating unfavorable attitudes only becomes more difficult. With over 6.5 billion people in the world, there's someone who believes whatever you like (within reason, of course). In fact, there's usually a lot of someones who believe any given thing.

yup, we do get free massages..

Just thought I'd revive this discussion since follow-up question posted this morning.

The reader who submitted that question/comment was very, very classy. I am very impressed. I am also very impressed with the responses that it invoked.

man i wanted to post about this, but i couldn't before because of not being able to log in...

anyway! i agreed with coggers, and not just because we're friends. she sounded whiny and entitled to me, like kids i used to go to school with who had the world handed to them and now have severe cocaine problems and can't keep a relationship afloat if their lives depended on it. i've never expected that my life will be AMAZING, but it is. i have great friends, a cute puppy, a job i'm thrilled with, and DVR. i get to have "wine and whine wednesdays" with my friends i don't see as often as i'd like this week, and it's the most exciting thing i have planned. i can't wait!

i think her problem isn't just that she sounds entitled, but she doesn't know how to appreciate the simple things in life. she's created her misery, and she can get out of it, but it seems like she wanted the writers to validate her misery/entitlement, and that rubbed me the wrong way.

Wow, I'm really impressed with the second round of answers. I think you guys nailed it that time.

The concern I have with Cognoscente's and like-minded answers is that even when what people deserve to hear more than naything is "get over yourself," that is very rarely an effective way to illicit change. It's a very good way to throw up a wall between me and the person I say it to. Especially in this case when the girl was requesting assistance, I kind of wince. Isn't this kind of the same mentality behind a idlife crisis? Realizing that your life will never be "amazing" and you aren't going to win a Nobel prize?

I agree with your thoughts Wisteria, which is why I agreed with Cog's answer, but appreciated the self-restraint of the other writers. I also think the new responses were great in terms of their substance.

You know, I wish I could be a prophet's wife.