The Strawberry Letter: Her Husband Is Better Than Mine

Subject: Her Husband is Better Than Mine

Dear Steve and Shirley, my husband and I have been together for 11 years total and married for 8. My older sister has been married for 15 years and her husband is like a big brother and mentor for my husband. My sister and her husband have always done great financially and when I got married, my sister bought my dress and paid for my glam team. She’s always been the one to take care of my parents as well. I was struggling through graduate school and then I got pregnant before I got married, so my sister and brother-in-law stepped in to help us out with the baby because the goal was for me to finish school and for my husband to finish medical school. We have always been appreciative of the help but along the way, we tried not to become a burden. After we got married, we got a loan for home improvements and my husband decided to chip in and help my sister and brother-in-law with redoing their outdoor kitchen. My husband and I bought a very expensive grill and a smoker for them. Instead of being grateful, my brother-in-law was offended and said he couldn’t accept the gift. From then on, our relationship turned into a competition. My sister and I aren’t as close as we once were because she told me that her husband is better than mine. Things were fine and dandy as long as we were needy, but now my husband is one of the most respected doctors in our area and she can’t take it. When I got a new car, she got a new, more expensive car. I got breast implants, so did she. Both of our husbands are successful and great fathers, so why can’t she be happy for us? Should I even try to repair our relationship?