Whipping the potatoes

I am the husband of a former nursing student who had the impossible task of us both going to college at the same time with a toddler at home. I worked three part-time jobs and had the GI bill to get us through. You can imagine the stress. My wife did not deal with it as well as I did.

I came home one evening when she was particularly stressed and in a bad mood. I asked, “What can I do to help?” She said, “Well, you can whip the potatoes on the stove into mashed potatoes.” I immediately took off my belt and started furiously beating the pan with it. She asked me in an annoyed voice, “What are you doing? Have you gone nuts?” My answer was “I am whipping the potatoes like you asked me to.” She collapsed in giggles and thus the bad mood was banished.

John Wilder is a marriage, relationship and sexual coach who incorporates his nursing school training into the work he does with couples. His blog is at marriagecoach1.wordpress.com.