Farming, truly a way of life

Tony and the guys are still harvesting.  We have been harvesting for a month now and it just keeps going and going.  Late planting, weather and the breakdown of equipment has caused what would be a normally long harvest to be even longer (at least that is what the other farm wives tell me).  Tony is working on week 4 of 12 - 16 hour days.  He leaves by 8 am and isn't home before 9, 6 days a week.  The boys don't farm on Sundays, thank goodness.  It is God's day, family day and a day of rest.

So, I love the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummand (http://thepioneerwoman.com/) .  I watched her show on Food Network weekly and I thought when I moved to the farm, my life would be just like hers.  Yeah, not so much.  First of all, I don't live on a ranch in Oklahoma.  I live in a small town in southern Indiana.  I have a tiny kitchen and three picky eaters who would rather have chicken nuggets or pizza instead of lasagna or a yummy chicken dish.  There are days that I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere, like she says, but I don't have leisure time to frolic around my kitchen and house creating amazing dishes.  I work hard, from sun up to sun down.  I am not really sure what all I do but it goes something like this:  wrangling children, helping with homework, changing diapers, running Em to her activities, and sometimes cooking and cleaning.  On paper, my life seems busy and full but one thing that I am learning is just how lonely it can be as a farmer's wife.

I remember reading a blog before we moved from a fellow farmer's wife. The one thing she said was that it was important to have a hobby or activity that you can focus on and keep busy with during the farming season.  From April through November, you become a farming widow, left with hours upon hours to yourself and you will literally go crazy if you don't have something to focus on daily.  I thought she was crazy, I mean how busy could one farmer be.  I expected the long days but what I wasn't prepared for was losing my best friend for many months out of the year.

Tony works so hard 12 hours a day.  The man is bone tired when he gets home.  The last thing he wants to do is sit down and have idle chit chat.  Of course, that is exactly what I want to do.  I haven't had an adult conversation all day and I am just bursting to speak with someone about what the kids did or didn't do, what our plans are for the weekend, or just sharing how my day was.  I am learning to adjust  my expectations and find different outlets to fulfill my social needs.  I recharge my batteries by being with people so being home all the time with kids, day in and day out, can be a struggle.  I love the gift of being able to stay home but I do miss being with other adults.  Thankfully, I have joined a few groups here that allow me to socialize with other moms.  I am learning from my fellow farm wives that farming is a way of life and you adjust and get used to it.  Your life is put on hold to take care of your man and the farm.  The true challenge lies in finding ways to take care of yourself and your kids without losing your mind.

A woman said to me, "we farm wives, well we are a breed of our own.  We live a life with much uncertainty yet we are expected to keep the home front going no matter what is going on around us.  Life goes on and our families are counting on us.  Farm life is hard.  But there is no better life to live because you are working God's land."  So true, so true.  So many lessons I continue to learn on a daily basis.  The quote below is one of my favorites and is how I choose to tackle each day.

The Good - the laughter from children

The Bad - Harrison and Mac screaming at breakfast and throwing food because they didn't want pancakes, they wanted cereal 

The Beautiful - watching Tony help Em with the piano

The Ugly - Harrison's biting Mac in the store, Mac biting him back and the woman in line asking me to control my children

The Not-So-Glamorous - potato soup on the front of my shirt and side of my cheek that had to have been there for awhile and I didn't even notice it (ran several errands like that).