Dear Abby: I am a 35-year-old woman who has been married for seven years. My problem is that I refuse to be naked in front of my husband.
I am not fat, but I used to be overweight. I exercise every day, but I'm flabby, and I just don't look good walking around naked. My husband tells me that I am the only woman in the world who won't let her husband see her naked. I tell him that's the reason there are so many divorces - women today can't compete with the women their husbands see on TV.Abby, am I the only woman in the world with this problem?
- Bashful
Dear Bashful: You are certainly not the only woman in the world with this problem. Women who compare their bodies to those firm, voluptuous beauties their husbands see on TV are understandably reluctant to walk around naked. It's not a serious hang-up - unless your husband feels seriously cheated, which I doubt. In fact, there's something to be said for keeping a little mystery about oneself; it can be provocative and quite enchanting.
Dear Abby: About 10 years ago, you had a letter in your column titled "That's Why I Married a Farmer." I cut it out and kept it for the longest time because I am a farmer's daughter, and my daughter also married a farmer.
If you can find it, please run it again. Thank you.
- A Farmer's Daughter in Iowa
Dear Daughter: That column originally ran in September 1984. And since it's as true today as it was then, here it is:
Dear Abby: I'm a city girl who's attending college in Ames, Iowa. I've fallen in love with a young man whose father was a farmer, and he intends to follow in his father's footsteps.
What are my chances for happiness as a farmer's wife? Do you have any statistics on this?
- In Love with Wally
Dear In love: No statistics, but love being what it is, statistics wouldn't help much.
A reader sent a charming piece. It may not be your bale of hay, but if it is, good luck to you and Wally.
"I wanted a guy who could sit and have a cup of coffee with me at 5:00 a.m. when the only sounds to be heard are crickets, cows and creaking floorboards - that's why I married a farmer.
"I wanted a guy who would crack a joke and make me laugh when I am covered with dirt and cow manure - that's why I married a farmer.
"I wanted a guy who could get out of a nice warm bed when it is 30 below, start up the tractor and plow out the driveway so the school bus can get through - that's why I married a farmer.
"I wanted a guy who could entertain four kids, a dog and a nerve-wracked wife when the power goes off, the pipes freeze and everything quits during a two-day blizzard - that's why I married a farmer.
"I wanted a guy who could put up with in-laws, outlaws and new tax laws, and still be open-minded and openly loving - that's why I married a farmer.
"I wanted a guy who could count his blessings when he's depressed, count his children when he feels poor, and count on God to make it all work out - that's why I married a farmer."