Marriage flounders over financials
Dear Amy: I am married to a beautiful woman. We have two wonderful daughters. For the past two years, a distance has grown between us.
This has been a rough year for me. I left a good job for another that didn't pan out. I then landed a great job with a former employer. My wife says that she supports me, but her tone of voice and facial expressions say otherwise.
With these transitions, we have gotten a little behind with our bills, but will recover over the next month. There was a snafu in pay last week, and I received a check for only one week's work instead of two. The rent was due.
I wanted to discuss this when I got home (about 9 p.m.), but she was sleeping. At five the next morning she confronted me. I tried to explain the situation, but she was furious and would not listen to me. She then gave me the silent treatment all weekend.
I tried apologizing and told her that I would work on communicating better on financials.
Her only response was that I had better get more communicative about this stuff, or it is over.
Wow. Over? I have a hard time talking about things. I have not slept in two days since this happened.
I love her and want to make this work, but if she is going to snap over stuff like this, I don't know.
-- Perplexed Husband
Dear Perplexed: Financial issues always put a strain on marriages, although your efforts to keep the ship afloat are admirable.
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