Ask most men about their best-ever day and they’re likely to give you a sweet response about the days they were married or when their children were born.
Not my husband.
Apparently, in the chaos of our last year, I completely failed to learn that Aaron’s truest dream has been to live on a farm. So, you’d think buying our 37 acres in rural Kansas would scratch that itch. Dream fulfilled, right?
Not quite.
On this oddly warm day in December, we escaped to the farm to deliver a few boxes, rummage through the barns and enjoy a moment of peace outside of the city. Aaron, though, went with one mission in mind: to get the Allis Chalmers running.
He’d been talking with my brother and dad about all the diesel mechanics of the machine. Google had been consulted, they’d assessed the work from a distance and the day had finally come to attempt repairs.
For a bit, the engine would sputter and fail. More tinkering would ensue, then another attempt at the start. Rinse and repeat.
A white cloud filled the pole barn as the tractor choked to life. First dragging, then winding slowly to the steady put-put-put-put I’d heard on my grandpa’s farm growing up. With the AC up and running, it was only seconds until Aaron was sitting behind the steering wheel and rolling briskly back and forth across the garden.
The smile on Aaron’s face was one to never be forgotten. Getting the farm had been exciting. But this moment – becoming a farmer – fit him well. His excitement for doing the work was contagious. His passion for being outside and moving was motivating.
More than ever, I’m certain we’ve made a perfect decision. We’re in an incredible place with such exceptional good fortune surrounding us at every angle. I hope he finds this amount of joy in all of the great times ahead.