The LONGEST week

This morning completed my twelfth milking in a row and it was Aadrian's eleventh milking in a row.  Now for anyone that knows me, you know I don't drink.  That being said I could have used a strong shot of something around 6am this morning.  The cows were in a mood and after seeing all of them constantly for the past 7 days I was in a mood of my own. 

Normally I only do eight of the fourteen milkings every week.  That schedule is exhausting by itself.  The reason we were handling all of the milkings this past week is because the people that work for us took a vacation.  And to make things even more fun we were also hauling hay while doing all of the milkings.  Every single day this week has been at least a ten hour work day for us.  A couple days it was more than that.  This evening our employees are back to work so Aadrian and I are getting a break.  A much needed break at that.

My week has gone something like this.  I was getting up at 4am, at the farm by 4:30, milking by 5.  I would be done milking around 7:30 usually.  Aadrian would get there around 6:30 most mornings to feed the calves and help me clean up the barn.  On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we hauled hay after we finished in the barn.  Monday I went home around 1pm and stuffed my face and then passed out for a couple hours.  At 4:15pm it was time to head back to the farm for the evening milking.  Aadrian would milk in the evenings and I would feed the calves.  This way no one had to be on the concrete in the barn constantly.  Tuesday morning Dad and Frank brought in the last load of hay.  YAY!!  It was only about forty bales so they got it brought in before I was even done milking.  The rest of my days consisted of about the same.  Even though we were done hauling hay there were errands that had to get done among other things. 

I need to take a minute here to talk about how impressive my Dad and my uncle Frank are.  Frank just turned 59 and my dad is 55.  They hauled the majority of the hay this year and they can out throw bales better than most men half their age.  We have had multiple teenagers out to haul hay over the years and Dad and Frank are better at it than anyone else I've seen.  I'll never be able to throw hay bales like they can because I'll never be as strong as them, but I do hope that I can still go out with my twenty something year old kids and keep up with them when I'm their ages.  They are just badass.

I would not have made it through this week if it hadn't been for my awesome hubby.  We didn't really see each other a whole lot except for the 30 minutes that we would eat supper together before I would pass out again.  When I was home I was either eating or sleeping and that was about it.  He made supper for us every night.  I'm telling you marry someone that can cook, because it is awesome to come home to an actual meal after the days that I had. 

But now that the past seven days are over and we survived them I have to say thank God!  It was the longest week that I have had this summer, but we did it and everyone is still in one piece.  Now we move on to harvest season :)

This was getting ready to load up our second load of hay on Monday.  We may have been a little bit loopy from the heat at this point.....

In the words of Meghan Trianor: It's pretty clear, I ain't no size two......

.....And I never have been and never will be.  God just didn't make me that way.  It's more like a size eight. 

McCollum's are built sturdy and the other half of my gene pool, the Well's are built pretty tough too.  I don't come from a family of stick thin people.  There are many people who are made that way, but I'm just not one of them and that is perfectly fine.

Growing up I experienced what every teenage girl in America goes through.  Thinking you aren't pretty enough, thin enough, or perfect enough.  It wasn't until the past few years that I started to really love my body for everything it can do and I have the farm to thank for that.  And I suppose I should also thank my awesome trainer, Danny Johnson.  He's helped me come a long way.  You keep saying I'll thank you someday so here it is!

I started running track when I was seven years old.  Once I was in fifth grade I added basketball to my schedule.  I was always an active kid growing up and my parents encouraged me and my sisters to compete in athletics.  I tried track, cross country, basketball, and tennis.  Tennis is the only one that stuck, but I have great memories of competing in all of those sports.  When I started college I went from being active in sports and working on the farm to doing nothing but studying.  I even got a job in the financial aid office on campus that was work study so I would have more time to get my homework done and I could work in between my classes. 

All of the studying did nothing for my health.  At least not my physical health.  And I, along with most college freshman, put on that 'freshman fifteen'.  I wasn't eating a lot more or anything, but I was eating a lot of fast and quick food.  And I spent a lot more time on my butt than I ever had before in my entire life.  It was a very different lifestyle and I had to adjust my eating habits and I also started working out at the student rec center.

By the time I finished my college career I had lost my freshman fifteen, but I had a new lifestyle to figure out.  There's a big difference between working at the farm two days a week versus everyday.  I needed to gain muscle and I also had to figure out the best way for my body to get the nutrition it needed for the long and weird hours that I work.  I had continued my running when I came back home from college, but it wasn't what I really needed.  After I had been home for about ten months and working full time on the farm, our small town got a personal trainer.  Yes we do have a gym, believe it or not.  The trainer started offering work out classes as well as personal training sessions.  I started going and I started gaining muscle, which is exactly what I needed. 

I now work out four days a week.  At least most weeks I do.  I do boot camp classes two days a week, which are total body workouts.  Then the other two days I just recently started practicing yoga.  Between working out and working at the farm I have put back on my freshman fifteen.  This time it's all muscle though. 

What this has taught me is that I was built to work on the farm.  I can wrestle pigs and calves to the ground so they can get doctored.  And I am also strong enough to pull a new born calf out when it's mother is having trouble birthing.  We are all built for different things.  Some people are built to be supermodels and others are built to have thighs and asses.  We are all made differently and we have to learn how to take care of our bodies so we can perform they way we are supposed to.  I am proud to know that I can keep up with dad and Frank.  And there are days when I put away more calories than my husband does and he's at least eight inches taller than me.  I've figured out what my body needs so I am healthy and happy and I encourage everyone to do the same for themselves.  It's time for more body loving instead of body hating, especially from us women. 

Growing up Farm: Being the Oldest

My parents were married for almost four years before I made my appearance into their lives.  At the time my mom was working as a chemist and dad of course was on the farm.  After I was born mom decided she wanted to become a science teacher so she could have more time at home with me.  Dad agreed it was a good idea and so she went back to school when I was about eight months old.  While she was in school they had to rely on dad's income since mom couldn't work and be a full time student at Wichita State University.  While mom was working I spent most days at the babysitters house, but when mom started going back to school I got sent to the farm with dad more often than I got sent to the babysitters.

I was basically carted around everywhere and with almost everyone.  There are pictures of me riding on horses with dad, sleeping in the cab of tractors, and basically just being a dirty farm baby.  I have a few memories of my toddler years out on the farm.  There's a story that's told about how I tried to pet the beef cows from the truck window and they all ran away from me.  I got upset that they wouldn't let me pet them like our dairy cows do, so I cried until dad took me back to the barn and I played with one of the dairy babies.  I also liked to chew on the cubes that we feed the cows.  It was my version of a pacifier.  At least that's what dad likes to tell me. 

My mother finished her schooling after one year and then she started teaching full time.  This meant I went back to the babysitters during the week and then I normally ended up at the farm on the weekends.  When we were younger my mom was more involved with the farm so we all spent more time out there together.  Once both of my sisters made their appearances I had started school and they were at a babysitters house full time during the week.  Neither of them got to spend as much time being carted around the farm as I did.  That could be why I have such a love of the farm, but who knows. 

The memories I do have are very precious to me.  My grandfather died when I was 12 so I didn't really have too many years with him.  He was one person that got to cart me around though.  I remember being in the tractor with him while he was planting and also in the combine during harvest.  Once when we were filling up the bins with corn I actually decided I wanted to ride in the back of the truck on top of the corn.  We were only going about a quarter of a mile down the road, so they let me do it.  I thought it was the best thing ever. 

My sisters and I started officially working on the farm during my freshman year of high school.  I was 14 and I had a farmer's permit which meant I could drive.  And me driving meant that we were going to be helping out at the farm more.  We started milking every Saturday morning and Sunday night.  I would milk the cows while Aadrian and Brenda would feed the calves.  Once they were done feeding the babies they would help me finish up.  The farm was my first job making my own money.  It was the first job for all three of us.  Since I was the oldest it was my responsibility to get everyone up and ready for the two milkings we were doing.  Mom said it wasn't her job and she wanted to sleep in on her Saturday's.  I have to tell you though that waking up Aadrian and Brenda was no joke.  They were both heavy sleepers and Aadrian has never been a morning person.  There were some mornings that all we did was yell and scream at each other because they were so grumpy and grouchy that I woke them up.  Somehow we managed to get the job done without killing each other. 

Since I am the oldest I have always been expected to take on more.  I was the built in babysitter, the driver, and the errand runner.  I never minded doing all of those things, but I do realize that there is a big difference in what was expected out of me versus my two little sisters.  This led to me being more mature at a younger age and also understanding what responsibility is.  Being responsible is something that anyone who has ever hired me can tell you I am.  Even though I grew up a little faster than my sisters I am thankful for the lessons that it taught me.  Going through life being known as a responsible and reliable person is never a bad thing and I have my upbringing to thank for that.