Dear Diane: Tough competing with a ghost

Dear Diane: I need an answer. I have written many people about this, but no one will give me an answer.

I remarried almost seven years ago. I have a wonderful husband, “Roy,” and I believe he loves me. We both lost our spouses within a month-and-a-half of each other. We had known each other through church in the past, but I had moved away many years before his wife died.

When I heard Roy’s wife died, I called him and we began a four-month courtship, which resulted in marriage. Because I lived 200 miles away, I sold most of my things to move in with Roy.

Here’s the problem. Roy has more than 100 pictures of his late wife scattered all over the house. Some are very large, especially the huge portrait that hung in the living room. He moved it to the room where I do our laundry.

What can I do? I feel like I’m living in a museum dedicated to Roy’s ex-wife.

— Feeling Left Out in Alabama

Dear Alabama: There’s no way you can compete with a ghost, and it’s reasonable to accept that Roy (or any other widower) misses his late wife. But after seven years, Roy should understand that he has a Living Wife who deserves just as much devotion as his Dead Wife.

Tell him that he needs to start respecting your feelings and that 100 pictures is simply too many. If he has problem with removing the pictures, I suggest the two of you seek some counseling. It’s obvious Roy has some issues he needs to deal with.