Here's a topic that's near and dear to my heart right now. (I'll explain in a minute why) I met my wife while in line at a grain elevator. She was there with her dad. I was hauling corn for my father. We lived 125 miles apart at that time. I could have been a million miles for all we cared, we KNEW we would be married 5 minutes after we met. NO JOKE.... She grew up on a small farm in central Kentucky. (Tobacco/corn/scrawny cows) I grew up on a dairy farm in southern Indiana. We have always been a perfect match. It does happen. Most of my (farm) friends ended up marrying girls that grew up in town, or that had little interest in farming. Some adjusted to farm life, some didn't. It's a crapshoot at best. My son, who is gradually taking his spot in the family farm, married a young lady who probably never SAW a farm until she met Jason. She's still not real fond of SOME parts of the life, but when they had the first of their two children, she started taking interest in the "rural lifestyle"...Funny how that all works. My wife is teaching her to can, garden, and even planning on starting to teach her the basics of running a combine this fall. (My wife is the designated combine operator around here) Now the part about why I'm so interested in this topic.... I have a 24 year old daughter, who HATED the prospect of living her life close to a farm. She couldn't wait until the first opportunity to get away from here. She ended up marrying this "Nancy" of a "man/boy?" who wouldn't get his hands dirty for love nor money. (He wouln't back down from a crack pipe though) Well....Now that's over with.... My daughter has 3 kids and no life... She's regretting NOT staying with boys that grew up like her. I hate to say "I told you so, BUT..... ....." OK.... Off that soap box... One thing I've found over the years (with myself AND with others... Don't set a "standard" for a future mate. When you meet that person, it'll just happen, and all the prerequisites will go out the window. Yep! It'd be great if you can find a girl that grew up on a farm, has her own tractor, and loves feeding cows in the wintertime, but just be thankfull if you find one that loves you for what you are... Sometimes that's as good as it gets.
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