Family will treasure ‘ lost’ photos of dead ex-boyfriend

I’m torn between wanting to flush them or offer them to his family, who only know that we broke up on bad terms.

Some of the pics are from a trip he did with his dad when they moved our stuff cross-country. My ex had borrowed my camera and later told me how much fun they had and how he and his dad bonded during that long trip. The pics captured those good times.

It’s been about a year now since he died, so it’s not a recent event. Do I reach out to them, or just quietly press “delete”?

Nonono! Don’t delete! The photos are priceless. Gather every one you have of him alone or from the trip with his dad, package them carefully, download their negatives onto the easiest storage format you have available, and ship them to his parents. Keep yourself out of it except to enclose a brief note with your condolences and your recollection of how much fun he had on the trip with his dad.

There’s no universal formula for what grieving loved ones want most, but “lost” photographs of the deceased are as close as you’ll ever get.

Dear Carolyn: My wife and I have what looks on paper like a great relationship, with good jobs and a good house and similar interests. My problem is I hate the way my wife treats me.

I say something she disagrees with, and she rolls her eyes. I ask her to please just tell me what she’s thinking and she says if I’m “too stupid” to figure out what she’s upset about, that’s my fault. We go out with friends and she acts like she’s having a good time, then she spends the ride home berating me about how I embarrassed her with some social faux pas that only she seemed to notice. I suggested marriage counseling, and she said she thinks it’s “hilarious” that I’m “not man enough” to stand up to her without a counselor present.

I’m closing in on the conclusion that divorce is the only option. Any better ideas?

No. Divorce sounds like bliss.

What you describe is emotional abuse. Inexcusable.

Living with her sounds like misery. You’re unhappy in this marriage and your efforts to change it have failed. Please talk to a divorce attorney and a family therapist — solo. Given what you’ve shared, this is not a divorce you want to initiate unprepared.