learning to drink upstream

this morning i helped my father-in-law round up heifers and young steers out of the cow yard and into a trailer.

i have been worried for the past weeks about a fox getting to our turduckens.

the other day i helped jon and one of my brothers-in-law move 2 sprinkler lines in a field.

i have now milked cows more times than i can count.

and i will be the first to admit that i never wanted, or had any desire, to do any of those things in my life.

before we dated, when jon was first flirting, one big reason for my distance was that i believed us to be too different. he was a cowboy/farmer. and despite living in a more country area, i was definitely city material (still am): born in salt lake city, childhood just outside of portland OR, drive a convertible mini cooper, into art, and i also tend to have expensive taste...
and i was never a big fan of the way my hair and clothes smelled after getting anywhere near to cattle and their waste. actually, I'm still not a big fan...

i think it is safe to say that there is a stereotype attached to county folk. i think we tend to feel that they are "below" us to some degree. they don't seem to wear the latest fashion trends, or always smell the best. i think it is also safe to say that we also tend to think of them as having lower I.Q.s. (jon has plenty of proof for that one) just last month, at the dentist, after i explained what my husband does and wants to do in life, i was told to make sure i get him back in school... after one of my neighbors saw me driving a backhoe, they came to me later that week in church and basically explained their concern about the fact that i was also doing farm work. i know they mean well, and that i should not be offended. (<- link to great talk by prior relief society pres. and a favorite quote of mine from marvin j. ashton.) plus, i once would have probably said the very same....

i am sad to say that i felt these same judgments.

i remember even feeling quite bummed about the fact that jon, out of all his brothers, was one that really enjoyed farming.

but i am very happy to say that they did not completely cloud my thinking. and id like to think that i am a better person because of that.

i found... life. thats the best way i can explain it. i was refreshed by this boy that liked cooling off in the pond with his dog. a boy that did not even think about taking me on a same old dinner-and-a-movie-date-at-the-juntion like so many others would. a boy that didn't even know what a frosty was. he didn't care if i wasn't wearing the "in" clothes.
theres just something about not worrying about getting dirty or smelly and just living. it reminded me of the freedom of jumping in canals after mud fights while moving sprinklers when i was 14.

but most importantly, i found out that jon and i really aren't too different.

it was actually pretty fun herding those cows. (a bit of an adrenaline rush at times though, when one would gather speed and try to get by you...) and even though i was the only option, i'm happy that my father-in-law feels he can ask me for help.

i definitely recommend giving "the country" a chance.

i was stalking cute jon while he fixed my sister's car.