His Wife Wrecked His Sourdough Starter, So He Packed A Bag And Left Home
What do you do when someone casually destroys something that mattered to you? Not because it was expensive or flashy, but because it brought you peace; because it was yours.
He didn’t ask for much; just that she leave it alone. But while he was away, she threw it out: the sourdough starter he spent years caring for, nurturing like a living thing, was gone.
And now she’s calling him dramatic while acting like it was just flour and water. But anyone who’s ever poured themselves into something, a hobby, a craft, a quiet joy, knows that it’s never just about the thing. It’s about what it gave you, and what it says when someone can toss that away without a second thought.
If you know anyone with a sourdough starter, you know how sacred it can be. Some sourdough starters can even remain in families for generations on end!
Several years ago, this man developed an interest in baking after he got bored during the pandemic. His little hobby turned into almost an obsession, and he created a sourdough starter that he decided to name Gerald.
“I fed him every day. I adjusted his hydration ratios like he was a bonsai tree. I spoke to him. I logged his behavior. I tested his rise times like a psycho,” he explained.
As for what he fed Gerald, it was a mix of ancient grains he milled by hand, so Gerald was absolutely a labor of love.
Recently, he had to go out of town for a work trip, and he was gone for four days. Prior to leaving, he asked his wife to please not touch Gerald.
Gerald was on their counter, so he directed his wife not to move, feed, or do anything to Gerald. On Sunday evening, he returned from his trip to find Gerald gone.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
Eventually, he tracked the jar Gerald was sitting in to their dishwasher. He questioned his wife about what had happened.
“She said, ‘Oh, I thought it had gone bad. It smelled awful. I dumped it and cleaned the jar.’ I just stared at her. I couldn’t even speak,” he added.
He walked out to their garage, climbed into his car, rolled down the windows, and spent the next two hours listening to black metal.
When he was more composed, he packed a few belongings into a bag and walked out of the house. He didn’t freak out on his wife or scream at her; he just got out of there.
His wife is furious with him, and she thinks he’s acting insane. His wife went to her sister and said he ran away from home over the death of his ‘dough baby.’
“Her friends are texting me bread memes. My brother called me “sourdough Jesus.” I feel mocked. Betrayed. Alone,” he continued.
“I get that it’s technically just flour and water. But it was MY flour and water. It was alive. It had a name. Am I overreacting?”
You can read the original post below.
More About:Relationships
