As usual, my metal family comes through for me. Thank you all for helping me to feel better.

We've since had a long talk about the day. I basically ignored him for the rest of Sunday, took kids out and had a good day with them. When they were in bed we had a real heart to heart and he apologized.
He stopped short of admitting that he doesn't like the fact that he's getting older.
What I don't understand is that he's in great shape ( I will not even say great shape for his age: he's in great shape period!) looks after himself and has a very  healthy lifestyle so I have no idea what the mood swings are for.

He has apologized though and says he'll make it up to me so we'll see how things go.

Rignt now my ungrateful husband. I went out of my way to pull together a surprise party for his birthday. I put a shitload of effort into it and postponed my own work so that I could do a good job of turning his birthday into a special day for him. The only thing that he needed to do was to get out of the house so that all the guests could sneak in. This worked out perfectly because we had to attend a school function for the kids in the morning. So I organized alternative parking; left a key with a friend so she could let everyone in etc. He bitched all morning about having to give up his saturday to attend the kids function at school, bitched the whole time we were there and bitched about it the whole way home. So he gets inside and all goes well.. Everyone is here and he gets a pleasant surprise. Has a fantastic birthday party where the most effort he needed to put in was to smile and enjoy all of us doting on him. He was well fed, well supplied with drinks etc so he had to do NOTHING! He thanks everyone for organizing the party but when they tell him I'm the one who actually organzied everything, I get little more than a sideways glance and a half-hearted 'oh cool, thanks'.

I paid that no attention, thinking maybe he was a bit shell-shocked or whatever. This morning he wakes up in such a filthy  mood because people (mostly his own family) are phoning him to wish him happy birthday. He's been stomping around the house in a filthy mood all day and I'm convinced that it is just because it's his birthday and he's a whole year older. WTF happens to men once they get into their 40's? I just don't get it. He seems to be getting worse and worse each year that he ages or christmas comes around. I got him nice gifts that he really wanted; arranged a fantastic party and still tried to dote on him this morning so that he could have a relaxing Sunday. And what do I get for it? A fecking grumpy old fart.

If this is what it's going to be like then next year I'm not even going to bother to acknowledge that he has a birthday. I'll make it a point to call everyone who knows him and tell them to just ignore the fact because he is an ungrateful, grumpy old fart.

We've been together for 11 years and have a 15 year age gap between us. I've never ever thought that this would become a problem but his actions over this whole event has made me feel very worried about our future. He's the one letting the age gap become a problem, not me. It has never phased me before but he's changing and I don't like what is happening. I'm extremely hurt by how he's treated me over this.

Such a sad story. I too am very sorry. You know, it is no secret how I treat my wife. I make it a point to refer to her often and to declare my affection and adoration. She is my life. She truly is my Princess.  There is a good reason for this. You see, I was not always the person you know now. All of what you now know is the culmination of years of learning and behaving in a terribly hateful manner towards my partner. I was mean. I was rude. I was a philanderer. I was NOT a good husband... it's true.

At some point, I began to realize that I was wrong. That I was NOT acting like a MAN.  For a real man is a protector. He is a lover and a point of strength. He is a source of happiness and comfort. He is never mean. He is always respectful. A real man sees to it that his wife is safe. That she does not cry. That she never wants. And that she NEVER fears.

My wife is my Princess. I am here on this earth to serve her. To be there for her at ALL times and to NEVER let her down. Never. THAT is what a MAN does!

Rignt now my ungrateful husband. I went out of my way to pull together a surprise party for his birthday. I put a shitload of effort into it and postponed my own work so that I could do a good job of turning his birthday into a special day for him. The only thing that he needed to do was to get out of the house so that all the guests could sneak in. This worked out perfectly because we had to attend a school function for the kids in the morning. So I organized alternative parking; left a key with a friend so she could let everyone in etc. He bitched all morning about having to give up his saturday to attend the kids function at school, bitched the whole time we were there and bitched about it the whole way home. So he gets inside and all goes well.. Everyone is here and he gets a pleasant surprise. Has a fantastic birthday party where the most effort he needed to put in was to smile and enjoy all of us doting on him. He was well fed, well supplied with drinks etc so he had to do NOTHING! He thanks everyone for organizing the party but when they tell him I'm the one who actually organzied everything, I get little more than a sideways glance and a half-hearted 'oh cool, thanks'.

I paid that no attention, thinking maybe he was a bit shell-shocked or whatever. This morning he wakes up in such a filthy  mood because people (mostly his own family) are phoning him to wish him happy birthday. He's been stomping around the house in a filthy mood all day and I'm convinced that it is just because it's his birthday and he's a whole year older. WTF happens to men once they get into their 40's? I just don't get it. He seems to be getting worse and worse each year that he ages or christmas comes around. I got him nice gifts that he really wanted; arranged a fantastic party and still tried to dote on him this morning so that he could have a relaxing Sunday. And what do I get for it? A fecking grumpy old fart.

If this is what it's going to be like then next year I'm not even going to bother to acknowledge that he has a birthday. I'll make it a point to call everyone who knows him and tell them to just ignore the fact because he is an ungrateful, grumpy old fart.

We've been together for 11 years and have a 15 year age gap between us. I've never ever thought that this would become a problem but his actions over this whole event has made me feel very worried about our future. He's the one letting the age gap become a problem, not me. It has never phased me before but he's changing and I don't like what is happening. I'm extremely hurt by how he's treated me over this.

Such a sad story. I too am very sorry. You know, it is no secret how I treat my wife. I make it a point to refer to her often and to declare my affection and adoration. She is my life. She truly is my Princess.  There is a good reason for this. You see, I was not always the person you know now. All of what you now know is the culmination of years of learning and behaving in a terribly hateful manner towards my partner. I was mean. I was rude. I was a philanderer. I was NOT a good husband... it's true.

At some point, I began to realize that I was wrong. That I was NOT acting like a MAN.  For a real man is a protector. He is a lover and a point of strength. He is a source of happiness and comfort. He is never mean. He is always respectful. A real man sees to it that his wife is safe. That she does not cry. That she never wants. And that she NEVER fears.

My wife is my Princess. I am here on this earth to serve her. To be there for her at ALL times and to NEVER let her down. Never. THAT is what a MAN does!