Are you bitter?

TMC - the one thing you don't mention in this is whether you've actually talked to your dad or not about this...no need to call him out, casually mention it in conversation. He probably feels bad about it, and might not know how to rectify the situation. No need to call him out...bust his balls about it a bit, but no need to make the situation worse. And if your wife can't accept an apology and let it go, then she's got issues to deal with.

I'm bitter about 84% of the day. The other 16% of the time I'm either sleeping, eating, or plopping so I'm pretty content.

I'm like that too, but I'd probably add playing Madden somewhere in there.

Yea TMC im a lot like you but I agree with schneed last post. You gotta tell your lady or your dad one of them is taking it too far. It will hurt you in the SR, but its better overall to get it out of the.

In the big picture it is such a small deal, IMO. First of all birthdays are overrated. Sure it is a great excuse to party and have fun, but who cares if you forget? It is just a day. I forget my family members bdays all the time. But does that mean I don't love them and I won't go to the end of the world for them? No. It just means I don't spend energy remember dates, but I spend time focusing on our relationships and the important aspects of that.

Next time you could do like I did and be proactive about it as the day approaches. "Yeah, so I'm looking for a gift because you know this Sunday is her birthday"

Getting upset over a birthday? That's just silly. Your wife is taking it too far. Time to pull up your skirt and announce who wears the pants in the house.


DISCLAIMER: saden1's advice is free. He is not a trained marriage consoler and can not be held liable for anything said in this post.

I'm bitter about the fact that FDR sold us out at Yalta.

Malcolm, i kind of had some of the same things go on in my family. no need to call him out, that just creates alot of friction. but your wife is bothered by this, it should be bothering you, too. she is your number one priority now. so he does need to be addressed. asking hm if he knew it was her b-day, or if he just forgot. but tread gently, because if you don't handle it correctly, you could start a family rift

People forget shit, it is nothing personal. I forget my own mother's (among other close family members) birthday sometimes. Does that mean that I love her (or them) any less?

Malcolm, i kind of had some of the same things go on in my family. no need to call him out, that just creates alot of friction. but your wife is bothered by this, it should be bothering you, too. she is your number one priority now. so he does need to be addressed. asking hm if he knew it was her b-day, or if he just forgot. but tread gently, because if you don't handle it correctly, you could start a family rift

One of the problems with this though, because of TMC's harmonizing personality, eventually his wife is going to get frustrated with him (if she hasn't already) for not taking enough of a stand on her behalf. And this won't apply to just this situation. Anytime she gets fired up about something, she's going to want to see him on her side, showing her that he's willing to stand up for her because that shows love and respect. So if TMC treads too gently with his father, chances are that won't satisfy his wife. Maybe it will now, but down the road after more years of marriage, she's going to be asking him to stand up stronger for her.

When it comes down to it, this situation calls for taking a firm stand. I can't say which side is best to choose, but to continue treading gently around these issues is the worst course of action in my opinion. Now, firm stands don't have to involve yelling or being an asshole. He could simply say to his wife, "I don't agree with your being so upset over this. I think you should forget it and move on because forgetting a birthday isn't the end of the world. I'm not going to say anything to my dad about it, so please stop asking me." End of story. No negotiation. Firm stand.

Or he could say "Dad, you forgot my wife's birthday. She was pretty upset. Please try to remember next time because it makes her feel slighted." If he argues or complains or whatever, just say "Dad I'm just conveying to you the consequences of forgetting her birthday. She'll get upset, and then we'll all have a rift. The ball's in your court."

But continuing to let issues get swept under the rug is going to piss off the wife over time, and then you end up with a big rift between husband and wife.

TMC, do what you've gotta do to smooth things over. Otherwise it's going to blow up into something entirely different and something much worse as it festers over time.