When I first met M, he was in the Air Force (yes, it was the uniform that sealed the deal!) and he had made two big purchases that he made payments on each month. His car, which was nice, but I really don’t remember what it was. And a stereo system. A big, hulking behemoth like the one pictured above.
And a lot of his pay each month went toward those two purchases. If I’m remembering correctly, it was about half.
But, he lived in the barracks and ate in the chow hall, so he didn’t have any expenses, other than those two things.
Today, here in 2020, the car is long gone, but the stereo (with the addition of a CD player in the 90s) has remained a part of our lives. Including those GIGANTIC speakers that weigh as much as a small donkey.
However, about 10 years ago (when we got surround sound,) M decided we didn’t need the stereo in the den and he moved everything up into the attic. The cold/hot drafty attic. Where it still resides.
We’ve been on a decluttering mission, so I mentioned the stereo over the weekend and suggested he think about where we could get rid of it.
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
You would have thought I had suggested cutting out his heart. No, that stereo is NOT going anywhere. In fact, he’s thinking about getting it back down and setting it up.
He doesn’t know where he’s going to set it up – he knows there’s no room for it.
He doesn’t know how he’s going to get it down – he knows it’s WAY TOO HEAVY for him to try to do it by himself and I’ve already said I’m not going to touch it. It’s too heavy and I’m not trying to die underneath one of those speakers.
He doesn’t know if it will work – it’s been in the attic for AT LEAST 10 years . . . if not longer. An unheated attic isn’t the best place for electronic equipment.
But he is bound and determined. And he has his back up about it. I haven’t seen him get this worked up about something in a long time. And he couldn’t/wouldn’t explain why. When I pointed out that we already had a MUCH SMALLER stereo system set up in the house that NEVER gets used and asked him WHY this one was so important, he didn’t say. He only said that we weren’t getting rid of it.
I even tried his favorite line out on him – “what difference does it make?” as in, we already have a stereo, what difference does it make which one we use, but he ignored it.
So, we still have gigantor-stereo with its matching speakers in the attic.
SMH.
Just don’t mention it again, maybe he’ll forget about it. This battle might not be worth the fight… right now.
Well, it’s probably the last , or only, thing left from his bachelor days. It’s HIS. He picked it out. He paid for it. He loved the sounds that came out of it. He loves the memories of how proud he was to have a super nice stereo. It was a rite of adulthood for a guy, just like the car.
My advice? Let it be. Sister. Let it be. And find a place to put it if you can, if it means that much to him. Our decor is already outdated, so why not go all the way to retro. And hopefully he still has his albums. If not, I know where he can get some replacements. 😊🥰😁