Dear LFTP: the spontaneous husband and the 7 p.m. date
- My spontaneous husband starts a project at 5 p.m., fails to cancel our 7 p.m. date, and shows up late in work clothes. Please advise.
Mike reads the second letter: a planner wife of two years whose spontaneous husband started a household project at 5 p.m., agreed to cancel their 7 p.m. date, never told the other couple, then showed up 45 minutes late in work clothes. The hosts rule the framing unfair: the problem isn't planning styles, it's rudeness — 'he's wrong because he did not tell the other people.' She's owed a conversation, not punishment, and should manage his fallibilities instead of trying to teach him a lesson. The Secular answer: his behavior was thoughtless and rude; her biggest mistake was fibbing to cover for him.
More on Marriage
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Dear LFTP: the basement musician whose wife never asks him to play
- Am I asking too much to expect my wife to ask me to play, or should I just let it go and stop writing songs?
Mike reads a letter from a married-31-years basement musician and songwriter whose non-musical wife has never once asked him to play — he wonders if he's asking too much or should stop writing.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Dear LFTP: the reluctant grandmother
- Am I wrong to prefer not to drive an hour and a half to visit my husband's grandbabies?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a 56-year-old married twelve years who doesn't want to drive an hour and a half to visit her husband's grandbabies — she's 'not into babies or children' — and can't understand why he won't stop asking.
From No. 596 · Mr. Prayer Closet
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Dear LFTP: the incarcerated husband
- My husband is serving a life sentence and I have met someone new — what should I do?
- How would you counsel the incarcerated husband who wants to divorce his wife to free her from the marriage?
Mike reads a heavier letter: the writer's husband is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole, having turned himself in a year and a half ago for a crime from…
From No. 596 · Mr. Prayer Closet
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Dear LFTP 1: the fiance who impulse-bought Butch the dog
- Dear LFTP: my fiance impulse-bought a dog I did not want, and I resent him — what do I do?
Mike reads the first letter: a woman's fiance talked her into "just looking" at puppies, then put money on the counter over her objections — now they have Butch, an active breed neither has time for, and she resents him.
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify