A Letter to My Future Sister in Law
To my soon to be sister, you have turned my big brother's life upside down and our family could not be more thankful he has found someone like you. I know you are a country girl and an animal lover so adjusting to farm life shouldn’t be a problem. However, marrying a farmer, and into a farm family definitely comes with its own set of quirks. Here are a few things you might want to be aware of!
Be prepared to have your sleep interrupted. Whether it be a phone call in the middle of the night because something broke down, or the early hours in the morning because someone left a gate open. For the most part you can send your farmer out the door with your blessing and go back to sleep, but sometimes extra bodies are needed. Keep those rubber boots near the door so you can go flying out into the brisk morning air to get those Jersey’s back to where they should be!
Keep the schedule flexible. As you have already figured out, this is not a 9-5 profession where the farmer can be home for dinner by 6:00. This is an always evolving, never ending, list of things that should get done today, and things that HAVE to get done today. Don’t wait dinner too long, and don’t expect to be on time to church. There is such a thing as “Farm Time”, usually we add at least an hour to the time they say they will be done and plan on that!
For (way in the) future reference, raising a farm family is one of the best parts of this job. While you have to trust your husband when it comes to your babies driving tractors or hanging out around cows, being able to spend so much time with our dad was amazing. If we wanted to ask him something, we would go track him down. If mom needed a break, she would send us out to the barn. He was always there, and always had time for us. There is a reason farming is often generational, it’s in the relationships we form with our family, the land, and the animals. Farming is in our blood.
know you have learned most of this already, and I’m sure there are things that have been missed you will learn in time. All farm wives are farmers in their own right, whether they work the land or not. They stand side by side with their husband through the roller coaster that is the milk prices and through the ups and downs of the weather. They see the frustration and despair in the bad times and the pure joy and excitement in the good times. Don’t let the manure and dirt fool you, this is a GOOD life. We see God’s faithfulness demonstrated each and every day. We can never thank Him enough for the way He has provided for us. Including bringing you into our family! We are glad to have you and even more glad that you still seem excited to join this crazy family.
This was a piece I originally put together for my family's cheese shop blog over at www.thecheesefarm.com shortly after Erika became engaged to my big brother Chris. It's definitely one my favorite things I have written thus far, so I thought some of our Streets of Gold followers might like it as well!
Much love,
~Elizabeth
