Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm your wife I do it because I find it amusing and it makes things interesting. I enjoy making up stories, people, and scenarios *shrugs

This strikes me as a bit of a different and more benign category. I do think there are folks, and I'd include my own Mom among them, who just enjoy telling tall tales. To some extent, it is even tacitly acknowledged in the telling that this may or may not be true, wonder if you can tell. We got lot of fabulous tales of her childhood for instance which she still never verified as true or not. At the same time, I have never known my Mom to actually lie when asked a direct (significant) question or to brush up her own image/ego (quite the opposite).

So I'd say context and motive matters.

Your Mom sounds a lot like me. I don't lie about serious matters. For example I was once on a plane and made small talk with a woman next to me. I was 25 and told her I was 45 and pregnant with twins while having shots on the plane.

Anonymous wrote:Have a code word. When she does it, gently remind her with the code word.

Anonymous wrote:

I'm your wife I do it because I find it amusing and it makes things interesting. I enjoy making up stories, people, and scenarios *shrugs

This strikes me as a bit of a different and more benign category. I do think there are folks, and I'd include my own Mom among them, who just enjoy telling tall tales. To some extent, it is even tacitly acknowledged in the telling that this may or may not be true, wonder if you can tell. We got lot of fabulous tales of her childhood for instance which she still never verified as true or not. At the same time, I have never known my Mom to actually lie when asked a direct (significant) question or to brush up her own image/ego (quite the opposite).

So I'd say context and motive matters.