Ask M Cubed

Dear Mandy,

I was reading a blog, and the author decided to write an intimate note to his/her spouse ON THE BLOG!! I was quite nauseated. I do not believe it is the appropriate place to be writing your spouse a note, especially when it is a shared blog. Buy a Hallmark card. I was just wondering what your thoughts/feelings were on this. I believe they should be stripped of their blogging privileges.

Nauseated in Nashville

Dear Nauseated:

I'm a little torn here. On one hand, the blog entry you're referring to (and we all know people who are guilty of this) did make me want to throw up in my mouth and then spit it all over the author. On the other hand, I did elect to read the blog; nobody forced me.

I'm as sentimental as the next girl, yet in the time before I was in a relationship and the time since, I've often been annoyed by people who feel the need to broadcast their loving feelings toward their spouse. To me, it's comparable to couples who make out in public. I've never been a fan of PDA, and this just seems to be blogging PDA. It's also irritating because, in my experience, those couples who are determined to convince us that they're happy are often the ones with the most issues.

It also seems that pointing out a specific trait that you love in your spouse (i.e., "My husband's really thoughtful. He did ____________ for me today") is much less annoying than some cliche line like "________, I love you more today than I ever have." And if the gushing comes from someone who is a master of the English language (Shakespeare, Pioneer Woman, etc.) it's much less offensive. The blog you sent me also contained the line "Your an amazing father." I may be even more offended by the author's inablity to use the correct forms of "your and you're" than I am by the verbal makeout session.

There's a time and a place to subject others to the super mushy stuff. Weddings. That's it. Anything more than that is poor form.

Final verdict: yes, they're annoying. People should learn how to use the English language. However, if we really don't want to see it, we don't have to visit the blogs. (Even though they're like train wrecks, and they do provide a self-esteem boost.)

Hope this helps!