For a typical farm wife harvest begins weeks before the
first bulk tank of wheat has been filled by the farmer. It starts with intense
menu planning, days of grocery shopping, “spring” house cleaning and yard work,
a few pre-harvest parts runs, at least one day – if not more- of cookie baking,
and possibly a round of early school shopping. That being said, I bet there are
a county full of farm wives out there telling me that this list is NOT EVEN
CLOSE to what they really have to do to get ready. I am sure they are right,
but that is because in the year 2013, I am not a typical farm wife. In fact, I
pale in comparison to any of the farm ladies who have come before me.
That is not to say that harvest doesn’t start weeks before
the first dump for me too, because it surely does. I grocery shop for days like
everyone else, I do some meal planning, and of course, parts runs; but it
really starts for me on that first day when I see all of the “Help” pulling
into the driveway.
Three days ago, my mother-in-law once again set up her
camper at the base of our yard. It is the same spot where she has parked it on
for the last two years; down by the old garden, beneath the maple tree and the
lilac bushes where the afternoon shade makes the hot days of cooking our meals
just a little more bearable. That night she cooked our first harvest meal of
spicy sausages and beans with green salad and a little pie for dessert. Once
again, we were all immersed in the reality of the life that we were about to
live for the next three weeks.
The next morning, my husband took his first full lunch box
to the door and then turned around to kiss me good-bye. My heart fluttered, not
only from the kiss (which as you all know will be non-existent in about a
week!) but also from the realization that we were really – all of us - going to
do this again!
Within a couple of hours, our reliable truck driver Lonny
pulled up in his familiar burgundy colored pick-up, the one I remember him
buying right after our first harvest together. I have not seen it, or him, in a
year, and yet as he got out and flashed that always-friendly crooked smile, I
felt as if it had only been a week. I think Lonny felt that way as well.
He was followed quickly in by Marsha, one of our other truck
drivers, who pulled up in her blue SUV and the same cute little camper she has
parked on our lawn in the same spot for the past two years. It made me almost tear
up when I thought about the fact that Marsha didn’t even have to ask where to
park. She simply turned around and backed onto the lawn where her extension
cord can reach and she won’t have to walk too far in the dark after a shower
and dinner. That is Marsha’s spot.
We all know that.
But this year, it really started for me, as well as for my
mother-in-law, when we watched my boys Brett and Dustin, ages 16 and 15, head
out for the day with the rest of the field workers. Brett is 16, and drove
combine for us last year. This year, our operation has changed, and Brett has
been promoted to truck driver. This is not an easy task, but one that we all
know Brett is totally capable of. Dustin is our new tractor driver. He pulls
the bank-out wagon to the trucks and fills them so that the drivers can take
the grain to the elevator. Dustin’s first night home he said he earned a few
grey hairs. I believe that of both of my boys, but they have sure made life
easier on me!
I have yet to make a parts run. I have yet to feel
overwhelmed. What I do feel is intense gratitude for all of these people, and
an amazing amount of pride in my family and friends for all that they do to
help us get our product to market. Farm life constantly changes, and as a
result, farm wives lives constantly change as well, but as any good farmer will
tell you: Enjoy it now, because the moment things start getting good, you can
count on them turning to shit again.
That, as well as a farm wife rolling her eyes when The
Farmer is not looking, is something that will I am more than certain will never
change.
