Counseling Corner 3/27

Brain and Steele,

As a couple of entertaining and funny guys, I hope you will understand my plight and help me out by reading this letter on the counseling corner. My wife and I have been together for over 7 years and for 5 of those years we have been happily married. My problem I am having might seem miniscule to some and ridiculous to others...but to me it is an issue and I don't know what to do.

When Sarah and I started dating and throughout the first couple years of our marriage, I would make jokes and observations I thought were humorous and she would laugh at the things I said. We laughed – A LOT. Just the other day I made a joke that I thought was extremely funny and she didn't even look up from her plate of sesame chicken at dinner. It was then I realized, my wife doesn't find me funny any more. I brought it up and her response was “I guess I just kind of got used to you and how you joke and now it's no big deal.” I didn't say anything else, but since then it's really bothered me. I guess to me it's like beauty. I believe my wife is beautiful...but if I never acknowledged she was pretty and said, “I guess I've just gotten used to you...your looks are no big deal” - I would guess she would not be happy.

I know you can't force someone to find you funny...so I am not sure what to do.

Tommy