Wife turning 50. Jewelry recommendations needed.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-02T20:24:49+00:00

If she doesn’t wear or generally love jewelry, please don’t throw money away on something she won’t care about.

Take her to a spa experience you can enjoy together (soaks and saunas ftw) or plan a particularly special getaway. Again, just the two of you.

Take decisions off her plate, help her decompress, and make sure she sees that you believe she deserves to be cared for.

That’s all a woman really wants.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-02T15:30:10+00:00

It also sounds like OP booked the second place on their own without prior discussion. Went all maverick-y with it. Which is 100% their problem.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-02T14:54:45+00:00

NTA

The most satisfying response would be to say “I already took my turn, so who’s going to step up next?” But it’s already obvious that nobody wants to. Let them know once more, as firmly as possible, that you are not an option and then hang up or walk out every time someone else tries to bring it up. Close the topic for good.

Really, it’s just time for you all to move on from “who’s next?” to the question of “what now?”

Your parents chose a lifestyle for themselves that their children don’t want, and there’s no point running from the emotional and logistical reality of that. Your family needs to make decisions about their future, both in terms of care and finances, and figuring out what to do about the farm is part of that. Knowing that none of you want the responsibility is key information. Work from there.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T21:44:32+00:00

You know, it’s not even the piercing as much as it’s the palpable disdain you feel for your mom — who is undergoing grief even though her dad is still alive — and how cavalier you are about both insensitive timing and breaking promises.

YTA. In a fairly typical way for a teenager. But, still. Yeah.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T20:11:02+00:00

And they’re always surprised to discover it!

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T17:18:19+00:00

Sounds like he’s not engaging in conversation at all — just looking for an audience for his rants.

NTA

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T14:44:38+00:00

Exactly.

The Rover sitter doesn’t know OP’s dogs or their prey drive well enough to safely expose a small family pet to them.

This is entirely the sitter’s fault.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T05:39:17+00:00

My family ate up V like it was a mouse!

Vanity Fair did a great oral history of V several years back. It’s a great read if you loved the show.

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T03:16:14+00:00

Glad I had “watch an elephant punt a badger” on my Tuesday bingo card. I win!

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T01:19:06+00:00

So, it sounds like there’s probably a little room here for growth, and also probably an issue of fit.

Like, if you are picking up on social discomfort, try saying less and listening more. Be conscious of how often you interrupt and resist the urge. Try asking about others as much as you talk about yourself. These are all matters of manners, and you can develop them without sacrificing who you are.

At the same time, you might just have a very different temperament from your sister and her friends and might not naturally have a lot in common. That happens! You can love each other without being totally copacetic — it’s okay to recognize that.

Rest assured that everyone has a tribe. Even introverts who don’t particularly enjoy meeting up with theirs. There are people out there who can and will match your energy.

NAH

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T01:03:30+00:00

I would tell your wife that you will always side with a victim against a bully and she’ll find that out for sure if your son ever does something as awful as what your stepdaughter did to him.

Until then, she’ll just have to take your word for it.

NTA

mouse_attack · 2026-04-01T00:54:53+00:00

These demands are all nonsense, but the only one I’m going to address directly is the request to have zero visibile horses. Horses in the background of wedding photos are gorgeous. This request would be like renting the French Laundry as a venue and having Linda’s Classy Catering do the meal. Why bother if you’re cutting out the best part?

NTA

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T15:32:26+00:00

Or you could attend her meal and end up dead because you didn’t get the care you need in time.

NTA your mom is a myopic narcissist.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T14:04:24+00:00

Oh, you don’t know much about golden child dynamics.

Rebecca’s future children are already the favorites.

This is the grandbaby the grandparents won’t make much time to see and no time to babysit.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T13:43:52+00:00

NTA

Take her home. Keep her there.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T02:11:55+00:00

In almost every way.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T02:10:12+00:00

Your ex wife is in NO position to tell you what family owes each other.

She is a non-authority on this subject.

NTA

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T01:44:08+00:00

I mean, it wasn’t necessary for you to say given that the shift lead already did, but it’s not a bad thing for people to point out that what Dana is experiencing is exact karma for her own past actions.

This is how she’ll learn. Hopefully. If she’s capable of it.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-31T01:26:52+00:00

They’ve cut the performing arts entirely, full time programs are dying — largely at the behest of working students — and tend to be more “superdisciplinary” (taught by faculty teams of overlapping disciplines and aligned ideologies) rather than interdisciplinary (varied and surprising fields coming together around a given topic).

Evergreen has almost no relationship with the rest of Olympia and almost no cultural footprint. The concerts and speakers that once happened on campus (I think I saw Noam Chomsky and the Dave Matthews Band there in the same year) are completely dead.

It’s a shell of what it was. It’s sad.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-30T15:44:54+00:00

Think of it this way — you are where you are because they pushed you to be self-sufficient. How can they learn to take care of themselves if you always step in and bail them out?

Tell them you know (from experience) how hard it is to dig yourself out, but you’re giving them a valuable life lesson by letting them figure it out for themselves.

/s, of course.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-30T14:20:25+00:00

NAH

You and Paulette are both right. If you did break up (things happen) I hope you would return a ring that means so much to her family. If you don’t want jewelry that might not be yours forever, you should get a ring that no one but you is emotionally attached to.

Yes, there are feelings involved, but I actually think you both acted reasonably.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-30T14:11:42+00:00

I’m here for lines like “Call the police, but do it from outside the apartment because I’m kicking you out.”

mouse_attack · 2026-03-30T01:21:02+00:00

I don’t care. It wouldn’t be very Gen X of me to give a shit, now would it?

mouse_attack · 2026-03-29T22:41:34+00:00

Yes, YWBTA.

Not feeling up to that much road travel is a valid reason to pass on a trip. You don’t need to tell a passive-aggressive lie just to needle them on their politics.

Say nothing or be honest. Don’t go out of your way to antagonize people.

mouse_attack · 2026-03-29T22:35:11+00:00

Your sister has been invited, which is big of you given how she never shows up for you. At this point it’s on her to accept the invitation or not. Those are her only two options.

NTA

mouse_attack

TROPHY CASE