Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Real Life Marriage: I Want You to Have Nice Things!



I balked when my husband wanted to buy me a Mac laptop. He had already bought me a (cheaper) Dell laptop, but when the screen broke within a year, he insisted on buying me a higher quality product. I don't like spending lots of money. I don't like spending lots of money on me. Though I am high maintenance emotionally, I think I pride myself on being lower maintenance when it comes to things, or at least I thought I was.

My husband insisted on buying the Mac laptop, and inside of fighting him, I decided to submit and let him do it. I had a sense that if I fought him, I'd end up continually frustrated with my broken Dell (which would adversely affect him), or inevitably end up with another device that would last a short amount of time and then check out on us.

Many years past that point, I am really thankful he bought me the Mac. I have taken it on trips. I have used it for hours without power. I have watched videos and uploaded tons of photos. I took it on our cruise. It has held up. I am so thankful!

I rarely get a chance to buy nice things for my husband, but I have been asking him for a while if I could help him buy some better running shoes. Several years into my shoe journey, I have found that shoes make a big difference, and I wanted my husband to experience the difference, too! While he did not exactly let me pick out his new shoes, he did end up settling on a brand and model that I have and enjoy, and that made me very happy! As he received his shoes and started asking me questions about them, I felt joy swell inside me. And I thought, I think I am starting to get it. When you love someone, you want them to have nice things!

Nice things are not always feasible. There are many things I would like to buy my husband that do not fit into the budget. When we get the opportunity to help each other have nice things though, there is a lot of joy in that. Maybe rejoicing in nice shoes is a sign of getting older, but hey, it is love in all its glory, and I will take it!

2 comments:

  1. In the long run one good Macbook is cheaper that the string of Dells that you would go through in the same time. Ask me how I know!

    But seriously, the Hubs and I both have cheap streaks in us, and our superpower as a couple is being able to see when the other person is taking things too far. At that point he or I will tell the other person to level up, or just step in and get the item as a gift. We're not big gift givers, so it really is special to be able to step in and take care of the issue/have the issue taken care of for me.

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    1. Yes, hopefully I learned my Dell lesson! And I am so appreciative of how marriage can bring out the best in us, and for the other person. It isn't that way for everyone, I know, so I am thankful for the. gift God has given me!

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