Current Today I Felt Like A Queen

Every wife likes to feel special don't we? Even us "farm" wifes. I love being a farm wife, don't get me wrong. It always makes me feel special, but just an "ordinary day" special. You know like: "Oh yea honey could you stop past Del's while your in town? The starter for the White is done and ready to pick up." Or during wheat planting time: "Honey I don't want to stop for lunch so could you bring it to me....say 12:30?" Note: I was to bring him lunch....no mention of "I wonder if you would plant {actually drive the tractor} while I went home to eat lunch."

Then there is: "Could you run to the elevator and get 3000 pounds of Rock 40 fertilizer and bring it over to the south 80?" Or riding with him so you can spoon hamburger hash and pieces of baked potato and beans into his mouth so he can keep the combine moving. How could he ever trust you to drive that huge monster? Or when we are fixing fence. He is the one who hooks the stretchers to the wire and then to the post and stretches it just right, or he's the one who drives in the post, while his wife is running up out of the ditch, climbing into the pickup bed, carrying the stretchers, a steel post, pliers, barb wire or whatever else he needs back down into the ditch. Yes everyday we feel "ordinary" special, but today I felt like a queen!

Sometime in the early morning the alarm clock sounded. Out side the bedroom curtains it was still pitch black. Hubby rolled over, hit the turn off button, grunted a bit, sat up slow and started to pull on his jeans.

"What time is it anyway?" I whispered

"5:45...I have to get started. Want to finish planting that patch across the creek and hopefully get a good start on those fields south of the highway."

"Whatever" I muttered pulling his pllow close to me and snuggling back into the warm covers. I figured I could sleep until at least 7, after all this would be one of those "ordinary" days for me. You know finish putting up the pears I started yesterday, go after a load of Rock 40 fertilizer around noon, take him over lunch, things like that. Soon I was drifting back into dream land, to the sound of hubby banging around in the kitchen.

Somewhere between 7 and 7:15 I crawled out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and stumbled out to the kitchen. Hubby was in the back room, hand on the door handle ready to go. The sun was just starting to color the eastern sky.

That's when it all started. "I wonder if you could fill the mixer with those two different kinds of wheat seed while I finish that patch across the creek. You know like you did yesterday?"

"I guess so" I yawned "let me get my shoes."

While he pulled the grain wagon out of the shed, I thought I would be helpful, so I went to start the White. I had forgot! It wouldn't start! We tried pulling it with the pickup, but no luck.

"Boy this is great! I wanted to get started planting early, but now look! All we have is one big mess!"

I stood quiet, close to him, kicking around a rock with my foot, my hands in my back pockets. "I suppose you wouldn't let me finish planting across the creek while you deal with all this?"

"Well---I never thought of that" he cleared his throat. "I guess that would be the best plan."

Wow!! Super!! How exciting!! People----I was going to plant wheat! Actually drive the tractor and put the seed into the ground. That was when I became queen! He had made me feel so special because he was trusting me!

"Follow me out with the pickup and I'll show you what needs to be done" I was so excited that I forgot that I hadn't eaten breakfast yet! Oh well that could wait.

He explained that both ends of the field were planted already. All I had to do was drive east and pull out so the front gang and rear gang are both on the area already planted, raise them out of the ground, turn sharp to the left, put the gangs back in the ground and head back west. Oh yes---and watch that the seed chaff gear keeps moving because if it doesn't your not putting seed in the ground! Thus----when wheat harvest comes around you will sadly discover a blank area in the field.

Now there is a few important things one needs to know about this field. Take note that at the east end was a creek bed that produces trees that one could come in contact with if they didn't turn short enough. Also note that at the west end of this flat field was a pasture, which means there is a pasture fence that one could come in contact with if they didn't turn short enough. Mixed in with the barb wire is a few hedge trees who's limbs extend out into the field.

Also inside the tractor cab is the clutch on your left and on your right is the brake. The problem there is that there's two brake pedals. One turns the tractor to the left and the other one turns it to the right. They are side by side, so it's very easy for ones foot to press down on both at the same time, thus your tires just kind of go straight instead of turning.

Ok...so I go from the west end of the field to the east, turned sharp to the left, and go back west until I got to the south side of the field. This should be simple! No problem!

My hubby's rows are straight and true, straight as a ruler. My first two or three were pretty good, then for some reason they started to look a little like a snakes trail through the dirt! Woops! I'm sure the reason was because I couldn't see that little homemade marker chain when traveling west. That sun was coming right into my back window and blinding me. Yea... I'm sure that was the reason that those rows were starting to look like snake trails!

Well hubby might complain a bit about the small patches where no seed was. He may loose a bushel come harvest, but there were some spots where I double planted. Wow he should get double bushels there. Right?

Then there was that small minor problem at the ends! You see sometimes I got to close to the fence before stopping and lifting the gang's out to turn around. Then there happened to be a time or two when my foot came down right in the middle of those two brake pedals and thus my tires wanted to creep toward the pasture fence, or to close to a tree branch! But----all's well that ends well they say.

The moral of the story is this: If you get treated like a queen you will believe your important and you will love doing even those "ordinary day" things.

For the rest of the day I didn't get to plant anymore but I still felt like a queen as I went to the elevator for another load of Rock 40, or took hubby out his lunch, or drove the grain wagon over to the field and helped fill his drill with wheat seed and fertilizer.

I even got to rake some alfalfa, even if the rake and tractor are still setting in the field, cause I couldn't get the rake folded up for some reason this time

But just because hubby made me feel so good about myself for a whole two hours this morning---my whole day blossomed.

So be careful. If you have a chance-----be sure to make someone feel like a million dollars! Your words may turn their whole world into sunshine.

PS Guess what? The next day I got to plant wheat again! This time my rows didn't even look like snakes having fun in the dirt! Like they say----Practice makes perfect. Smile!

PSS You won't believe this next PS!! I actually got to drive the combine! Yes he really let me! Of course he was setting on the arm of the seat all the time. We kind of looked like an octopus! I was driving but he was reaching in front of me to tap on the hydro to make me go a little faster or a little slower. Then he would reach around me to lift the header up a bit more. But hey...I got to drive the combine. Now I feel like a king dressed like a queen!