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February is my favorite month. Valentine’s Day is the best holiday of all and not because of the cutesy hearts, flowers, and candy. I was born on Valentine’s Day and I celebrate my birthday all month long.
I really love how farmers barely notice this Hallmark holiday and can hardly cough up the cash to buy their wife a simple card. Farmers usually slack a little in the romance department. They are the best caregivers to livestock and great loving dads and husbands, but to find them in the card aisle of a store usually doesn’t happen. I don’t think my dad would even know how to order flowers but he claims he did back when they were dating. I bet even then he bought them on the 15th when they were on sale. In their 30 years of marriage and my 20 years of life, I rarely remember seeing any cards, flowers, or candy to celebrate the day. But that does not mean my mother hasn’t received some pretty special Valentine’s Day gifts, she got me back in 2003!
I’ve written before about how my dad says the fancy new manure spreader he bought mom
years ago on February 14th had him ‘spreading the love’ all year long. Well this year he finally decided to upgrade that gift with a newer model. Mom rolled her eyes when her shiny new Kuhn pulled into the driveway last week. My older brothers claimed they could get more for the old one by selling it as themselves. Bold move on their part and they were up for the challenge, eager to prove to our dad that they knew what they were doing. I didn’t think they had a chance, however, I think it was a little beginner’s luck as they sold it pretty quickly online - to the state of Oregon! Our old spreader will soon be hauling shredded paper along the road ditches of the west coast. It’s still spreading the cheer! I can only hope that the farmer's wife enjoys her Valentine’s Day gift as much as we did.
I will still be celebrating my birthday for at least another week but I think I’m going to miss that old manure spreader and the fun stories we had with it. It really was a better gift than any cards, flowers, or candy. Farmers might be smarter than we think.
~ Kesley Holdgrafer