Well, I'll try to give some serious advice...from a guy who's been there and didn't heed the warnings until it was almost too late.
I bet the bottom line is- she doesn't really want less of the Scrambler, she just wants more of you!
Answer these questions- HONESTLY! Do you find yourself thinking "I wish I was working on the Jeep" when doing household projects? Or when going shopping with her? At the grocery store, do you sneak away to the magazine section while she does the shopping alone? When driving, do you point out every Jeep you see? Do you hide money from your check to put into the Jeep, even when money is tight around the house? So you go out to the garage while she does the dishes? How about on holidays? Do you spend the day with her, or try to reason out how you can budget time between her and the Jeep? Honestly, do you look forward to spending a day working on the Jeep as much as (Or more than) spending one with your wife? Do you rush home to check the posts on the BBS?
Do you feel you work hard, and you DESERVE the time you spend with your Jeep, because, after all, those hours at work are to support the lifestyle your wife enjoys?
So, you realized that maybe your Jeep is the priority in your life. But you hide it well, right? WRONG! Female radar is a technology that NORAD would love to own. She knows your every thought, your every mood, the moment she sees you!
So, what do you do? Start out by taking a good look at your life, and how you're living it. Think about how you'd feel if your wife was gone. Now, keep that thought in mind and change the way you look at your time and your resources.
Sounds like you've sank alot of money into the Scrambler. Your wife sees that. What she sees is the Cruise that the Scrambler ate, or the new carpet that should have been in the living room, not in the Jeep, or maybe the new car she's always wanted. And don't think she doesn't know that it's $3000. to completion. She has an idea... that while she struggles to make ends meet, you keep finding ways to get more stuff for the Jeep. She wonders "Why can't he put that kind of effort into making our lives better?"
The Scrambler probably doesn't have to go...but you've got major damage control to do. Start out with talking to her. Tell her you've seen the error of your ways, and that she is the most important thing in your life, and that you want to treat her that way. She won't believe you...she's heard it before...so you have to "earn" her trust.
Do the dishes with her. Stay inside on holidays. Take walks with her. Stay with her while she shops. Bring home flowers once in awhile. Stop pointing out Jeeps and talking about how neat yours will be once it's done. Valentine's Day is coming up...how about taking her somewhere overnite? And make the reservations yourself, don't let her do it all for you. She wants to be taken care of, she wants to be cherished TWICE as much as the Jeep...and more!
A quote of my wife's- "Real change is evident when there is no need to prove it."
Once she trusts you again, she will want you to have the Scrambler, because she knows the joy it brings you.
If not, she's mor important than the Jeep, anyways.
Good luck!
Ok...if I've spoken out of line, or totally mis-diagnosed your situation, I'm sorry. Just trying to help out. You see, I was in the same situation a couple of years ago...except I had ignored the warnings, and my wife was done with me. That description above- that was me! But I changed, for good, and we worked it out. Our relationship is better than ever now.
My wife told me yesterday the 'your girlfriend (her name for my jeep) is sucking the life out of our marrage.' She wants me to sell my nearly complete (about $3000 left to go) 81 -8. I'm not sure what to do. I thought about hiding it in the back yard for a while to let things calm down but she's my daily driver so I'd have to come up with an alternative mode of transport.
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