Friend tells tales about good fortune
June 11, 2012 1:22PM
Updated: August 23, 2012 9:53AM
Dr. Wallace: Meghan is my best friend. Our family has recently been blessed with some extremely good fortune. Both my mother and father have been promoted where they work. The promotions came within two weeks of each other, so our family had one big celebration. Meghan was invited and was in attendance. Also, my brother received a letter saying that he has been accepted at Notre Dame University.
When I told her about our good fortune, she really wasn’t excited. Instead, she had to tell me about her family’s good luck. She said that her uncle in San Francisco won $25,000 in the lottery, that her brother was promoted in the Navy and that her cousin was accepted at Yale. All she did was tell me that her family had more good fortune than mine.
I said that I was happy for her, but I later checked out her story and only the story about her brother was true. He is an enlisted man. He finished boot camp and went from seaman apprentice to seaman.
Why would she try so hard to impress me with such tall tales? We have been best friends for a long time.
Nameless, Valparaiso
Nameless: It appears that your friend is going through a period where her self-image has been slipping and by topping your good fortune, her ego will get a boost.
Don’t challenge her about her tall tales. It won’t solve her problem, and it probably would only make it worse. Do what you can to help her gain self-confidence. Compliment her and make her smile. She needs your friendship.
Write to Dr. Wallace
at rwallace@galesburg.net
