And the 30 Day blog experience is done. Everyone exhale. We’ve covered the scope of a not so glamorous life, haven’t we? From book fairs and power surges, to chocolate cake and mashed potatoes, from backhoes and tricked out tractors to profiles of my two favorite people, Ethan and Nattie, I’ve concluded this not so glamorous life is actually pretty nice.
I’ll give some of that credit to My Farmer, who provided the fodder for many of these blogs and many more to come. He dutifully read each entry this month and teased, “Does your farmer have a name?”
Bloggers who are also farm wives have a tendency to name their men. The most famous would have to be The Marlboro Man, the Pioneer Woman’s husband. I follow “Kissed A Farmer” on Facebook who writes about the farmer she kisses and their life as dryland cotton farmers in Texas. Confessions of a Farm Wife refers to “Farmer Joe” and a newspaper columnist I follow often refers to her husband as “The farmer”.
My Farmer’s name is Andy, but I’ve called him My Farmer for some time. In fact I introduced him to more than 350 fifth graders attending our Ag Expo as “a real-live farmer”. The kids were impressed. He was not.
My Farmer loves his farm, although he may not use the word ‘love’, but that’s what it is. He likes the paper part of it, the sweaty, make your bones tired part, and the unpredictable days and weather, and the fact that sometimes the corn doesn’t come up all that rosy, but there is always next year and the opportunity to do better. I think he appreciates the routine of the seasons – planting in the spring, maintenance in the summer and harvest in the fall – yet knowing it never goes as planned.
You won’t see him writing blogs or on facebook, twitter or youtube. That’s not his style. “I farm. You talk,” he says to me. But he joins in when tour groups arrive at the farm, clarifying what I don’t know and offering the hard numbers to tough questions.
My Farmer is more than his farm. He is a good father and a strong husband. He knows when to challenge me and when to listen. He says yes to me as often as I say yes to others. He loves his children and delights in seeing their brains churn to figure out the next big thing.
He is the foundation on which our family is growing, learning and building a life.
Thank you Andy for being My Farmer and so much more.
Recap the 30 Days of the Not So Glamorous Life of this Farm Wife:
- Day 1: Hunger Games. Hungry Planet.
- Day 2: Chili, Children, & Checkers
- Day 3: My Very Fairy Farm Princess
- Day 4: Sunday School Lesson
- Day 5: Wackie Day. Wackie Cake.
- Day 6: Tricked Out Tractor
- Day 7: God Bless Teachers
- Day 8: Just Breathe
- Day 9: Meet My Farm Boy
- Day 10: Date Night
- Day 11: America the Beautiful
- Day 12: What Farm Wives Discuss When Farmers Aren’t Around
- Day 13: Working Calves
- Day 14: Leavin’ On A Jet Plane
- Day 15: A Face in the Crowd
- Day 16: Home Again & Harvest Dinner
- Day 17: Spring Cleaning
- Day 18: 4-H Superheroes
- Day 19: I’m Nuts About. . .
- Day 20: Prepping for Turkey Day
- Day 21: Backhoe Bonanza
- Day 22: I’m Thankful for . . .
- Day 23: So Long Turkey
- Day 24: To Farm or Not to Farm
- Day 25: Christmas Walk
- Day 26: Common Country Courtesy
- Day 27: Where the Farmers Meet
- Day 28: The Biotech Bandwagon
- Day 29: It’s Trivia Time!
You saved the best for last. That was my favorite. It gave me chills. I think your farmer is a good guy too. I hope you don’t stop blogging. I am enjoying Rural Route 2. I hope to see you soon. Jake has figured out with the help of your farmer just how far off the route you guys are on the way to our feed yard.