By: Stephany Jackson
As I sit here and write this, we are officially a month into harvest. We are in the routine and the kids are used to only seeing daddy in the combine, over facetime, or when it rains. One of my favorite harvest moments was a couple years ago when my son was 2. He asked if we could go see Daddy at his house. I was a little confused and I asked him where his house was. He replied, “at the shop.” If that isn’t a perfect description of harvest, I don’t know what is.
Today I want to talk to the farmer’s wife. Harvest is long, and at times can be hard on everyone. While our husbands are working long hours in the field, we find ourselves putting in long hours of our own. As the farmer’s wife, we play many different roles. Some of us are more involved in the farming operation than others, some of us are stay at home moms, and some of us work a full-time job. Even though we are not all cut from the same mold, we all bare the same weight during the harvest season – keeping the house, routines, and family moving like it’s just another day. We keep things as normal as possible for our kids and we are an emotional sounding board for our husbands during their long, hard hours. To be the farmer’s wife means to wear many different hats, and even when you feel like it, you are not alone!
I feel so blessed to be a farmer’s wife. To be a part of a family business that helps feed the world. There’s also a pride that I feel. God has entrusted me with the responsibility of raising the next generation of the farm. Getting to raise my kids on the farm is such a blessing. It instills the foundational life lessons and morals that are so important.
Harvest requires a lot from all of us. And in a way, being the farmer’s wife may seem tougher than being our husbands at times. Between tending to our homes, working our own jobs, helping on the farm, and taking care of our children, our days can be just as long. But as I watch our children looking out the window watching their daddy slowly making his way across the field in the combine, I can’t help but think about how blessed we are to live the life that we do. I wouldn’t trade being a farmer’s wife for anything.
