47 Years of Marriage Taught Dad One Thing: Earrings Are Consumables

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There’s something quietly striking about a person who’s been married long enough to have seen everything — and who responds to the small crises of everyday life with calm clarity instead of frustration or lectures. When a Japanese woman shared a brief moment from her parents’ home, it resonated with a lot of people.

Her mother had lost one of her earrings and was feeling genuinely down about it. Her father — 47 years into their marriage — just said, matter-of-factly: “Earrings are consumables. It happens. Let’s go buy new ones.” The daughter’s reaction was essentially: wow, that’s a different kind of backbone. And she wasn’t wrong.

From there, the comments opened into a surprisingly warm discussion — about the wisdom of calling fragile things “consumable,” the quiet but meaningful difference between “just buy another one” and “let’s go buy new ones,” and what it actually means to be good at being with someone for a very long time.

Comments

When Mom lost one of her earrings and was really down about it, Dad just casually said, “Earrings are consumables — it happens, let’s go buy new ones.” That’s the backbone of someone 47 years into a marriage. I’d never thought of them as consumables before.

イヤリングを片方なくして落ち込む母に、イヤリングは消耗品だもん仕方ないよ、買いに行こうと普通にいう父。さすが婚歴47年は胆力が違うわ。イヤリングが消耗品とは思ってなかったわ。

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What a wonderful dad!!!!!

素敵なお父さまーーーーー！

Now that’s a power phrase.

中々のパワーワード

So lovely. I want that kind of gentleness too. Calling them “consumables” specifically so she doesn’t feel guilty about losing them — that’s a level my husband hasn’t reached yet.

素敵。私もこういう優しさがほしい。無くしてしまった罪悪感を感じさせないために『消耗品』と言う。うちの夫には高度な技だと思う。

Earrings may be consumables, but the love clearly isn’t. That’s the really lovely part.

イヤリングは消耗品だが、愛は消耗されてないのが大変素敵。

Earrings are consumables. I’m absolutely adding this one to my vocabulary.

イヤリングは消耗品。これは積極的に使っていきたい

Even pierced earrings fall out sometimes, so I want to adopt this mindset too (and just buy them myself). (In Japan, イヤリング refers specifically to clip-on earrings; ピアス means the pierced kind — clip-ons are generally considered easier to lose, hence why many people here mention switching.)

ピアスでも落とす時は落とすのでこういう心持ちで生きたい（自分で買いに行く

In sumo stables, even toilet seats are consumables…! (Sumo wrestlers are enormous, so equipment in their training houses tends to get worn through at a rather impressive rate.)

相撲部屋では便座は消耗品…！

Car bumpers are consumables too. The world is full of consumables when you think about it.

車のバンパーも消耗品だしな世の中には消耗品が溢れている

No matter how much you love something, all things with physical form will eventually… you know.

どんなに思い入れのあるものでも形あるものはいつか…ね。

You do drop and lose them, so yeah, “consumable” actually checks out.

落として無くすし、消耗品ではある。

Earrings AND rings are consumables……

イヤリングと指輪は消耗品です……

Because earrings are consumables, I can’t really bring myself to buy expensive ones… (not saying I won’t buy them)

イヤリングは消耗品なのであまり高価なものは買えません…（買わないとは言ってない）

Yep, earrings are consumables. I’ve got SO many lone earrings at home. So I can’t bring myself to buy expensive ones lately — I’ve literally lost them the same day I got them.

そう。イヤリングは消耗品。家に片割れのイヤリングがめちゃめちゃある。なので最近は高価なイヤリングは買えない。まじでその日のうちに失くしたりする。

Clip-on earrings were such consumables it was painful, so I just got my ears pierced. Also — people who NEVER lose earrings are genuinely impressive.

イヤリングは消耗品すぎてつらかったからピアス穴あけた。っていうかイヤリング無くさない人ってすごすぎる。

I want to think of pierced earrings as consumables too, but it’s just… hard…

ピアスも消耗品と考えることにしたいですが難しいです…

Back in the day, pearl earrings were genuine consumables. Many a man found himself in quite a spot when one turned up somewhere very inconvenient.

そのむかし、真珠のピアスは確かに消耗品だった。これ見よがしにベッドに潜り込ませられて往生した男は数知れない。

(For reference: I once told my wife “Why do you wear them if you’re just going to lose them?” and got absolutely reamed for it.)

（僕は妻に「なんで失くすのに着けるの？」と言ってしこたま怒られたことがあります）

Whether they’re actually consumables or not is beside the point — the vocabulary and communication skills to make someone think “well, can’t be helped” and feel better about it are impressive. The dad must be quite capable in professional life too.

実際に消耗品かどうかは兎も角、それなら仕方ないかと相手を前向きにさせるボキャブラリーと交渉力の高さ。御父様は相当優秀な社会人なのだろうなあ。

The “consumables” framing is great, but what really gets me is the word choice of “let’s go buy new ones.” “Just buy another one” feels cold; “let’s go buy new ones” feels like he’s right there with her. It might seem like a small thing from the husband’s side, but for the wife, those little moments are exactly what add up.

消耗品と考えられるのもいいけどその後の「買いに行こう」って言葉選びが凄く良い「また買えばいいじゃん」よりも「買いに行こう」のほうが自分の気持ちに寄り添ってくれてるって感じる旦那さん側したら些細で小さなことかもしれないけど、奥さん側はその小さな積み重ねが嬉しいんよな

The way he casually signals she’s not at fault while also turning it into an excuse for a date — impressive. Being able to smooth over the atmosphere and gently tend to the family relationship like that, he’s genuinely capable.

こういうサラッと相手に非はないと伝えつつデートの目的として誘う手段として活用出来るの凄い。場の空気を整えて、人間（家族）関係の細やかなテコ入れが出来てるんだから相当デキる男ってやつだと思う。

My dad has zero interest in jewelry or fine kimonos — diamonds are just “little rocks” and ivory is just “the white stuff.” When Mom loses something and gets upset, he says “just buy another one” and she resents him for it. He doesn’t get that great-grandma’s heirlooms or one-of-a-kind items can’t be replaced — he thinks everything can be bought like a can 🥫 from a vending machine.

父は宝石とか質の良い着物などに全く興味なくて、ダイヤもただの小さい石、白いやつ（象牙）。無くして騒ぐ母に「また買えば」って言って恨まれてる曽祖母の形見とか今はもう買えないとかわからないから、缶🥫みたいに自販機で買えると思ってる

Something my mom told me: she once said to my dad, “A simple kamaboko will do for a wedding ring” — meaning she wasn’t asking for anything fancy. He drove all the way to Odawara (a city in Kanagawa Prefecture famous for kamaboko, a type of steamed fish cake) and came home with a full assortment of them.

母から聞いた話結婚指輪はかまぼこでいいよと父に言ったら、小田原まで行って蒲鉾の詰め合わせを買ってきたらしい

This reminded me of my husband’s go-to line whenever I lose important jewelry or break an expensive dish: “All things with form are finite.” It’s become his catchphrase before comforting me lol. These days, whenever HE starts feeling down about losing or breaking something, I say it back to him — and he has no comeback 😂

私が大事なピアスやジュエリーを無くしたり、高価なお皿を割って落ち込む度に、それを贈った夫が「形あるものは有限ですから」と決まり文句を言ってから慰めてくれるのを思い出した笑近年では、夫が何か物を無くしたり壊れて落ち込みそうになると、私の方から「形あるものは有限ですから」と言うようになって夫も返す言葉がない様子😂

My take

That casual delivery is what makes it land. Forty-seven years of everything will do that to a person, I suppose.

#Heartwarming #Culture

Source & translation note

Comments loosely translated for tone. Reactions collected from Togetter and X threads.

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