City Life to Farm Wife

Just call me Mrs. R.  Born and raised a "city" girl...former collegiate athlete...wanting the big city life...traveling...working...friends...no kids.  Fast forward almost 10 years...and here I'am.  Married to a farmer...four kids...and living in one of the most rural places most people will ever see in their life.  Back country gravel roads, "driveway" (farm lot) littered with farm equipment, beans and corn littering my washer and dryer on a daily basis...and the constant smell of fresh livestock shit filling our nostrils whenever we step foot outside our door...and I LOVE it...this former city girl is in love with this life.

Now, almost 10 years into all this and I'm still "transforming" into a country girl...and if you ask the locals...I will never be true country because I was raised in the city...no ifs, ands or buts about that...it is just the way it is...but my kids...my KIDS.  They have been born and will be raised in this life.  The most amazing life me and my husband can give to our kids...the farm life.  Their lives are consumed by combine rides, crop checks, cattle hauling and barn cleaning...farm talk and being constantly on the go and flexible with life....a life I never knew existed until I met my husband.

Now, I'm slightly envious of my children...they will see life in so many different ways by the age of 5 when it takes most people 20.  Life, death, loss, long hours, hard work, mother nature...you name it...they have witnessed it and understood it...and they will know no different.

Me on the other hand........  It took many years for me to understand and get used to this life....like
Saturday and Sunday are not days off...and that there is ALWAYS something to do on the farm.          Buying white clothing is a no no thanks to lovely well water.  Mice, rats, flies and spiders are just a way of life on a farm and if you don't except that you will have some major problems going anywhere or doing anything...even indoors...That being able to cook is imperative if you are a farmers wife...not just for the field...but because take-out and delivery is zilch around these parts...That the days work is truly not over until the sun sets...even then...it is not a guarantee.  Committing to any sort of engagement in advance is next to impossible.  Conversations with your husband are always about farming...how is the market?  equipment running ok?  any breakdowns today?  how are yields? beans shattering? able to get enough semis today?  what time does the elevator close?  need me to do any parts runs or help move equipment?  And my most FAVORITE...is how much mother nature plays a part in our life...and how beautiful and torturous she is all at the same time..............I have learned just as much from her as I have from my husband!

I have learned to just go with the flow and to not expect a whole lot from my husband during certain times of the year.  I have also learned that the best way to see my husband sometimes...is to ask questions and continue to be eager to learn...if I can nail this (though having four kids hinders this tremendously)...I have learned to artificially inseminate our cattle which puts me in the drivers seat during breeding...I have become pretty good at hauling our cattle or hoping in the truck and hauling 15+ round bales with our gooseneck trailer...and I'm still learning to run tractors smoothly and to "talk the talk" as much as I know how...I literally learn something new everyday!