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Danielle G.

Danielle G.

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Should you mess with your spouse's birthday gift? A simple tweak got in the way of this couple

AIBU, which stands for 'Am I Being Unreasonable', is the perfect platform for sharing your thoughts and opinions! So, for today's AIBU discussion, we have this story from Reddit/[deleted]:

Am I being unreasonable for disagreeing with my wife to alter a birthday gift that my friend gave me?

'So a friend of mine gave me frames with quotes and poems that resonated with me. I was really moved by his gesture and the thought he put into it. A couple days later, my wife said the photos in the frames are in bad resolution, and that she wants to print the same images in better resolution so it doesn't look pixelated.'

'To be fair, the images were pixelated, but I told her thats a part of the gift and it means something to me. So I wouldn't want to replace the photos, even if they're exactly the same (Ship of Theseus?).'

'Today, she went ahead and printed the new images (exactly the same image, dimensions etc.) and replaced those in the frames from my friend. She said she'll still hold on to the photos my friend gave with the frames. I had no clue she was going to do it despite my explicit disapproval when she originally proposed the idea.'

'This led to a huge argument between us and she feels I'm being unreasonable because she's trying to improve the look of the photos while keeping the same image. Am I being unreasonable for being upset with her and wanting to keep the original gift with the slightly blurry images?'
 
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Seriously, are you really asking whether you are the AIBU? That gift was yours, it meant a lot to you and it had absolutely nothing to do with your wife. You are an individual and so is she - neither of you own or control one another - her actions were appalling (a) because she felt it was her right to do something to an item which belongs to you and (b) because she ignored your request to leave it alone and (c) she disregarded the importance of the gift remaining in its original state. If that is what married life leads to, thank God I am out of it. That woman's arrogance knows no bounds and you were right to have it out with her but I doubt it would have made any difference. Did you marry a child because I think she has a lot of growing up to do!!
 
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What!! I cannot believe anybody would do something so uncalled for. Demand for the originals back, replace them and enjoy them. Stand up for your rights - you are a man not a mouse and to heck with any repercussions!! Either you remain upset or you get it sorted and if she doesn't like it, then that is her problem. Don't hesitate!!
 
Your wife sounds like she wears the pants in your marriage. It’s her way or n way!

Stand up for yourself & let her know how upset you are by her altering a gift given to YOU…. not her.

Would she be calm and accepting if you altered one of her gifts she was given?
 
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It was a gift created by a friend who cares about you.
It need not be perfect as it is the caring thoughts that count the most.
Something you treasure should not be altered by somebody else without permission.
Enjoy your original gift. 🙌🏻
 
I can understand the gift was given to you by a very dear friend and despite the imperfections (pixelated image) you still love and adore the gift because it was given from the heart. I doubt your wife would appreciate it if you altered a gift she received from a friend.
 
I once changed something small in my partner’s gift thinking it’d be better—totally backfired. Now I just stick to what I know they want, no surprises unless I’m sure.
 
You can see the that if the person who gives someone a gift, if they later come for a visit at the home and see the gift has been altered then they would see this as the gift was seen as not good enough and be insulted. Leaving the gift in its original state unaltered preserves the heart felt friendship on both sides of the fence. I think that is more important. The olde saying "it is not the gift but the thought that counts". As children we would pick dandelions and give them to our mother. Today we know dandelions are weeds, but as a young child it was the thought that counted, that we would go to the trouble of picking what we thought were nice flowers as giving them as a gift for someone we loved (our mother).
 

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