38. Tearing up the credit card or paying down the balance? 

Carolyn, Phil’s wife, wondered out loud why she put up with Phil. “I must be an idiot,” she said. “He makes me so angry sometimes.”

“You’re not an idiot,” I told her.  “Your anger at Phil is like credit card debt.  It’s human nature to pay down a credit card rather than tear it up.   Phil stays on the wagon.  He’s kind and attentive. He’s paying down the anger debt he owes you.  Things go back to normal.  Phil thinks he deserves a beer.  Soon he’s off to the races, running up that debt. The cycle starts over. One of you has to tear up the credit card.  He’s got to make major changes or you’ve got to.”

Today I will see what credit cards I need to tear up, literally and figuratively.

Writing My New Story © 2015 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Writing My New Story is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)