By the end of the summer around here we are typically finishing up odds and ends on the farm, around our home, and planning the last of our date nights for the next couple of months.
But, more importantly we are gearing up for a busy, fulfilling time of year. Harvest.
During Harvest we work long, we work hard; I go back to being single, and a single Mom.
Date nights are few and far between and typically means it is raining.
One the of most important things about dating a farmer, or being married to one, is the ability to be flexible.
I am completely organized, on top of things- always, and prefer to stick tight to a schedule. Real tight.
And I married a farmer. That often will call for a "quick" ride that turns into two hours later. A "quick" parts run that takes all day. And, "Can you come run the tractor for a little bit..." that turns into a 16 hour day.
Needless to say, in the last 5 years flexibility and I have learned to live in the same house...not always happily, but we live.
It's also important to remember that if you have animals they always, always come first. And that means 7 days a week, all year long. Even on Christmas. So, being flexible about having to move snow on Christmas day, instead of spending time together as a family is a definite possibility. It has happened to me twice in 5 years!
I have learned in my 5 years on the farm to take advantage of EVERY opportunity to be together, or else you will go awhile before you are together. It may mean sitting in a bumpy tractor for the day reading off and on, picking up rocks, and getting some good quality conversation in between.
It may mean riding in the semi at 4 A.M. eight months pregnant just to spend some time with your hubby.It may mean taking silly pictures in the tractor at midnight while you wait for the last few loads of silage, because you only have a few to go before you are done.Flexibility and I haven't always been friends.But, I have learned to be flexible.Some of the best memories I have of me and my farmer are during those long nights in the tractor taking funny photos, cleaning grain bins, driving around checking fields, and even a sushi date every now and then.
It may be hard to be flexible at times, but I think you will find, just as I did, that sometimes the best memories come from those times of being willing to add some flexibility in your schedule.