It was Sunday morning, we have someone milk every Sunday so we can have a family day. Although we have the milking shift “off” the cows still need to be fed. Farmer had planned to get up at 4am to ensure that we were out of the house & off to spend the day together as a family. Our typical Sunday includes feeding the cows, church, trying to relax, evening chores and there is always something to add to the mix.
Today was special! It was Mother’s Day as well as our oldest son’s 4th birthday!
We had been out at the barn pretty late the night before, 7pm to be exact(which is their bedtime). The kids & I headed in while farmer finished up chores. I got the kids fed, ready to bed, tucked in, hugs/kisses, prayers said & they were out! I cleaned up the kitchen, switched some laundry from the washer to the dryer & sat down to see if I could write a new blog post. I couldn’t though, I was exhausted. My brain wouldn’t work. I went to bed & farmer came in around 10pm.
4am the next day, farmer headed to the barn. The cows needed to be fed, the calves needed to be fed, the dry cows (cows not milking, waiting to give birth) needed to be checked & the farm needed to be looked over before he headed into the house. I was up around 5:30am because that is just how it works… the mornings the kids want to sleep in, I wake up early.
I sat down at the computer before the kids woke up. My newsfeed on Facebook was overloaded with flowers, breakfast in bed, cards, etc. It was nice to see all these mom’s being recognized. I chuckled as I saw posts where the husband was making breakfast, cleaning the house or sending the wives off to pamper themselves. I had a friend share her freshly manicured nails & hair doo. I looked down at my nails which I keep short at all times & smiled. Not sure exactly when I had my hair done last, I should probably make an appointment.
You see every morning, every holiday & every birthday… 300 girls come before my needs. 300 bovine females to be exact! Taking care of these girls takes commitment, 365 days a year commitment. Regardless of the special occasion, their needs always come before ours.
That morning we headed off the farm around 9am to head to the indoor water park. I could do anything I wanted that day but I wanted to celebrate our son’s birthday and it had been awhile since we had done something like that as a family. Rock climbing wall, go karts, arcade & water park. It was a great day.
We were home about 5pm, just in time to do chores. We all switched gears, changed into our barn clothes & headed out to tend to our girls. I switched the cows from the first string (our Holsteins) to our second string (our jerseys) for our employee. Farmer mixed up a load of feed for the girls, I fed the calves, he bedded the outside group pins, I moved cows & opened the gates for him as he drove the tractor into the barn to feed cows. The kids watered the young heifers and played in the commodity piles (grain piles). We headed to the house, ate dinner and put the kids to bed. We were all exhausted.
The next day, the alarm clock went off at 3am and we were back into our “normal” routine. A routine I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
Every day is “Mother’s Day” on our farm. Every day we cater to these girls every need as well as becoming foster parents to their babies.
Krista Stauffer
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I hear ya I was at the farm at 530 feeding worked until 5 then went to burgerville for dinner!!! Being a business owner of animals is a never ending task no days off!!!
Farmer’s Wifee,
Sounds like you had the perfect day for you! The birth of a child must be one of the best Mother’s Day gifts you have ever gotten. I don’t have children, but can only imagine how exciting that would be.
My husband and I are the 4th generation on his family’s beef ranch. I can relate to having the needs of our livestock come before our own.
I’m glad you got a chance to get off the farm and have some fun to celebrate your son’s birthday. It sounds like the kids had fun doing chores too! We live in a very rural area and it’s nice to go to town (small, medium or the big city) every once in a while.
My nails are short too. I wash my hair once a week for church, if I’m lucky I will wash it twice in a week. Towards the end of the week my hair gets the run my fingers through it to pull it back in to a ponytail so I can get out the door quick treatment. The live of an ag wife!
Krista, I love your blog! It reminds me every day of how lucky I am to be marrying a selfless, hardworking farmer, who truly cares about me. It also helps me to stop & think before I open my mouth & something selfish comes out! I am changing a lot as a person – and all for the better too. Thank you for your help in that process!
Thank you! YES, we do have to stick together. There are days where I feel like I just might break & a fellow farm wife will left me up. It is a tough life, but amazing life.