Happy Sunday y’all! It has been a hot one around here and the constant evening thunderstorms that have been rolling in make it feel even more sticky and gross out. It sure makes our daily chores…. well a bit more sticky.
Even though the weather has been a bit of a downer, it is wedding anniversary season for us co-op members.
The Bolenders and Hamilton's were married in August. The Netheros and Morrises were married in September, and the Parkers were married in October.
Operating a farm, raising kids, and working full-time jobs off the farm make it hard to make time for other things, but we all recognize the importance of celebrating these milestones as they come. So, in honor of the upcoming anniversaries of our nuptials, we are going to give you a quick run-down of what it is like to be married to a farmer.
Farmers are never on time. You can never make set-in-stone plans, and you can count on that phone call 10 minutes past the time you were supposed to be somewhere saying he will be late.
Farmers are hardheaded. Sorting livestock can be grounds for a divorce. Proceed cautiously.
Farmers have a strong work-ethic. Sundays are for tending to livestock and catching up on chores, not Netflix and chilling.
Farmers admire a spouse who isn’t afraid to get dirty. Looking and smelling like you just rolled out of a trash can won’t run your husband away. He might find it attractive.
Farmers have a sweet tooth. Simply riding in a tractor or combine with him on a Saturday night is more meaningful than buying him a gift. Maybe not more meaningful than baking him a pie.
Farmers never make the 6 o’clock news. Eating dinner at 9 or 10 pm is normal, right?
Farmers challenge your patience (like most spouses). Cooking meals together, canning garden vegetables, bailing hay, or doing home improvement projects together can actually be fun. Here is where the patience you learned while sorting livestock comes in handy.
Farmers’ wives are still married (yes, we know you haven’t seen him in three Memorial Days). Your family accepts you as a third wheel during the busy planting, bailing, harvest, and calving seasons.
Farmers can’t fully commit to plans. Leaving an event or not attending an event because your cow is having a calf, your calves got loose, you unexpectedly ran out of feed, and so on, are real things.
Farmers don’t pencil well on your budget sheets. We find that our budget limits without needing to ask for permission aren’t even on the same spectrum. Us wives, “Hey, I bought a purse today.” Our husbands, “Oh, by the way, we bought a tractor today.”
A farmer's laundry tells the story on what he accomplished that day. You'll find all sorts of things in the lent trap after washing his farm clothes - nuts & bolts, soybeans, corn, straw ... that rivet he was looking for. The dryer usually clanks around at least once a week with a carpenter's knife he forgot to get out of his pocket.
Farmer's are usually too busy for a long phone conversation with the wife. But somehow, they know how much rain every neighbor got in a 25 mile radius & the latest community happenings. And they say the wives gossip! Ha!
But as much grief as we have given our farmers in this post, we wouldn’t trade them for the world. Their life experiences, worth-ethic, and determination not only make them fantastic life partners, but challenge us to be just as determined and overcome obstacles that often come our way.
So, for the nights that things don’t go as planned (are there any nights that do?), having a meal in the crockpot at home or a quick recipe at your fingertips saves the day……and that is where I will leave you. Here are some handy recipes to help make your weekday nights go a little smoother. If you're anything like us, when you've got dinner planned ahead of time, it makes you feel like you can accomplish anything the day throws at you!