Dear Tough Talk,
My stepson is good and decent man, if not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He is a good employee and father. He always helps people when he can. A few weeks ago, he repainted his garage. He was proud that he did this without having to hire anyone and supposedly saved a lot of money. He did an awful job, but who cares? He was happy and called his mother, proud of what he had done. She told him he should have hired a professional because his paintjob was a joke and the color was embarrassing. It looked like some zombie did it. Needless to say, he got mad, upset and yelled some nasty comments and slammed the phone down. My wife thinks he went too far, but I think she did not need to tear into him when he was proud of what he had done. What do you think Tough Talk? (Joliet, Illinois)
Joliet,
Your wife is just being honest with her feelings. Your stepson needs to suck it up and get over it and realize that he’s not a housepainter or at least needs more experience. That doesn’t make him a bad person, but he should accept his mediocrity. Furthermore, what does he care what his bimbo mother thinks? He can be up front with his feelings and let her know that she has a real margin for improvement herself. He can be honest too and tell her to ….
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Tough Talk 