A Farmer's Wife's Worries

In high school, a friend of mine used to say, 

"Katie, worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere."

Well, he was right.  I used to worry all the time and it never got me anywhere.

And I'll admit, I still worry a lot now (thanks to that gene from my mother).

I think it's a natural instinct for women to worry especially for the the women who husbands have one of the most dangerous jobs in our country--working in agriculture. 

The timing of this blog couldn't have been more perfect because yesterday I worried that my husband got into an accident.  He hadn't responded to my text for a few hours and didn't answer my call.  I kept thinking of the rocking chair and just told myself to "get home".  As soon as I thought of something else, he called.  

(This happens every time I worry....)

I worry a little when he checks the cows because you never really know what kind of mood they may be in.  And tonight, he got a call, "the cows are out!"  He dropped his book and ran to check them, leaving me slightly worried. 

I worry about him when he has to check cows and fix their frozen water in below zero temperatures.  And then I worry that he's losing his mind when he comes home from being outside all day and says, "let's make snow!'  

I worry about the test plots they he and his brother plant and that the results will be everything they had hoped for.

I worry when I come home to muck boots and clothes on my back porch and think, 

"what really went down in that pasture today and who won?" 

I worry that the equipment will work when it's supposed to during planting and harvest. 

And when I visit the field I usually worry that they haven't worn sunscreen all day and 

that they don't have anything to drink.  

I worry about if they have eaten enough during the busy times and then scramble to make them meals, then worry if it was enough and if they liked it.

This spring and summer I worried so much about the rain that would never end, that I couldn't sleep at night.

Some nights I went to bed while it was raining and woke up to the same rain pouring down from the sky.  But as I laid in bed, there really was nothing I could do but think about it.  The worry wasn't getting me anywhere.

But mainly I worry that my farmer will get in and out of his tractor safely.  

That he will tend to his land and animals and they will return the favor and care for him too.

I really try not to, but I worry too much (obviously).

My farmer, on the other hand, worries little and assures me everything will be okay in the end--it usually always is.

The best thing about him, is that I really don't need to worry about him 

especially when he still wants to sit in the rocking chairs with me after all that worry.