Dear LB - My wife’s superhuman strength, speed, and senses have made me feel deeply inadequate. She opens all the jars. She hears cars pulling in the driveway before I do. Last week she caught a falling lamp from across the room without looking up from her book. I just watched it happen. I feel useless.
— Emasculated in Eau Claire
Dear Emasculated,
Your wife can’t do taxes with her claws, presumably. Or parallel park. Or remember which of your friends she doesn’t like and pretend otherwise at dinner parties — that requires a specific kind of exhausting social performance that no amount of supernatural ability can replace. She also cannot, I’d wager, sit quietly with your feelings without trying to solve them, which is its own valuable skill you may be underselling. A strong partner is not a threat; a strong partner is a gift. Your job is not to match her — it’s to show up, be present, and occasionally hand her the jar first just to watch her beam. Say thank you. Mean it.
LB