🥔 The Great Potato Salad Showdown

☀️ A Sunny Day at Edwards Lake
Once upon a picture-perfect day at Edwards Lake, with kids laughing and water lapping gently against the shore, a humble potato salad managed to cause a bit more drama than expected. Not because it was poisoned or anything dramatic like that—just because I made it... chunky. Real chunky.

👫 Two Left Feet and One Kitchen Sink
Gary and I had this way of stepping all over each other when it came to traditional roles. I never liked the idea of “his job” or “her job”—I’d rather fix a leaky faucet than whip up a casserole. But there I was, squished into a camper kitchen, elbow-deep in potato salad prep, grumbling with every stir.

Meanwhile, Gary was out by the fire with his buddies, living his best life. His big responsibility? Watch the boys. That’s it. So when he waltzed in and handed me a baby with a full diaper, you better believe I nearly flipped my mixing bowl.

😤 Passive-Aggressive Potatoes
Eventually, I slapped that salad together—big chunks and all. And yes, I did it on purpose. I was tired, irritated, and figured if I had to suffer, that salad might as well reflect my mood. Gary took one look and said, “These potatoes are too big.”

Oh really? You don’t say.

🚗 A Midnight Escape—and a Gun
Like clockwork, Gary stormed off in the car. He needed to cool down. Only this time, he drove two hours to Dar and Les’s place and showed up uninvited... at midnight... to a house where Les apparently answers the door with a shotgun. (Spoiler alert: Gary lived.)

He eventually sobered up, got some sense talked into him, and made his way back home. But the whole ordeal? It stuck with me.

💡 What I Didn’t Say
Looking back, that whole fight wasn’t about potatoes. It was about me not feeling seen, and not knowing how to say so. That salad was my silent protest. I wasn’t trying to win a cooking contest—I was just tired of doing it all without help.

And Gary? He never even knew he’d stepped into a full-blown showdown until the potatoes told the story.

❤️ Lessons, Laughter, and Love
Marriage isn’t all roses and romance. Sometimes it’s dish duty, diaper duty, and figuring out how to keep the peace when the side dish becomes a weapon. What I’ve learned since is simple: real love means showing up, even when the potatoes are too big.

🍝 These days, I still don’t love cooking, but I’ve found someone who picks up the slack when I need it. And yes, we eat a lot of spaghetti.

🌤️ Wanda-ism:
When words fail, the potatoes will speak for you—just maybe cut them a little smaller next time.

Pull up a chair. I’ve got a story.