One thing I know for certain – I have some of the best girlfriends a farm gal could ask for. They accept my faults, my lack of plans (everything in farm life is weather dependant), my venting about the harder sides of farm life. They accept it because they live it as well. Our farms may not be the same, but we share the same struggles. My good friend, April Nichol, wrote this spring blog post, and it spoke to my heart. Have a read and enjoy it as I did. 

The Next 30 Days

I think it’s safe to say that whether you sit in the air seeder, deliver meals, run the sprayer or are the CEO of the rest of your family’s life, seeding time is its own mess of crazy – truly understood by only those who endure it every year. While all aspects of farming are stressful at certain times of the year, I always feel like seeding time brings the most anxiety. In Western Canada, we are extremely lucky to get 30 good planting days IF mother nature cooperates and its not too wet, too dry, too cold etc. So in order to get every acre in the ground in a timely fashion, the pressure is definitely on. For my non-farming friends, the thing about seeding is – if you don’t get it in the ground, you can’t harvest it, which means NO PAYCHEQUE. Imagine for a minute, if your entire year’s salary was dependant on the weather conditions for 30 days.  
In my household, whilst my husband is farming, I also work full time, in agriculture – which I love. So there are days when my job is unpredictable, stressful and uncontrollable all at the same time. Truth is, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. I’ve been watching my fellow farming wife friends on all measures of social media the last few weeks– getting lunch’s to the field, kids to soccer/ball, running farm equipment, working shifts outside of the farm and the list goes on. All the while feeling like there is not enough time in the day and that they can’t seem to please everyone. Here is my big learning – YOU CAN” T PLEASE EVERYONE. So, if there is a day when your 6-year-old didn’t make it to soccer, you were late with lunches, the laundry didn’t get done, your grass is 2 feet tall and someone at work is annoyed at you – don’t sweat it. It takes a special person and skill set to juggle all of the things that are thrown at you each day without loosing your grip. I’ve read all sorts of posts recently about looking after yourself so that you can look after everyone else. And it’s totally true. Take a breath and find your happiness – even if only for 10 minutes.

So what do I do? Well friends – I’m sitting on my deck, after dark, listening to the quiet chirp of my yard and enjoying a very Canadian Caesar. As I’m writing this post, I can reflect on how truly grateful I am to have all of these experiences, every single day. We all go through hours and days where it seems like nothing is running in our favor; then the next day the entire farm, work, and life flow like an orchestra. There are two things that are guaranteed – the sun will go down every night and will rise every morning. Enjoy those sunrises, 29 more and counting! 

April Nichol

Mom – Farmer – Ag Industry Lover