A while back, my husband and I had a big fight about whose family we were going to spend the holidays with. He ended up calling my mother a controlling bitch, and we ended up not talking. So instead of just apologizing to me the next day, he wrote me an e-mail saying he was sorry. but then going on and explaining what he really meant. It was nice he apologized, but it was pretty cowardly that he did it over e-mail, don't you think? I think he should have the guts - and another part of the body - to apologize to my face.

Before I focus on what you think he did wrong, let's talk about the good things that happened here. For one, your husband apologized and admitted he was wrong. More important, he took the time to write out exactly how he felt. Yes, he should be able to talk it through, but if you were mad, maybe he felt like he couldn't say what he wanted to say without feeling like he was going to be muted. And let's not assume that his e-mail was just a way to dismiss the conflict and end the discussion. Maybe it was just his way of calming both of you down - so you could start it.