We made it to Burkburnett!

As we were driving through Snyder, Oklahoma and further south into Frederick, I started feeling like we were the last ones to the party. I couldn’t believe the amount of wheat that had already been cut since we had been down just a week earlier. When we were through this area a week ago, we saw four combines running and wheat that looked like it should be cut. The harvesters began their exodus from all points of the Midwest with one thing in mind – cut wheat. And that’s what they did while we were still trying to get a truck repaired and a trailer house packed. Oh well…we did the best we could.

So, after all that work we did to get here, guess what it did last night – it rained. (Hurry up and wait – the harvester’s motto) Our first day of harvest 2012 and it starts as a rain day. Frustrating? Yes but, on the other hand, it gives us a day or two to take a deep breath, get settled and then gear up to the working stage. Those who busted their butts to get here and then had to start right away needed a break, too.  It’s always nice to get to a place a day or two BEFORE having to start cutting – not the same day. So, if I’m responsible for their break – so be it. They needed one!

As I was driving the dually (with our service truck loaded on the car trailer), I began thinking of all the memories this pickup holds for the Zeorian family. We purchased it in April, 1994 – it was already five years old at that time. I remember this because I was pregnant with Taylor. (Am I the only one who remembers certain things happening by when I was pregnant?) Anyways, back to my thought. As I was driving, I thought how very quiet it was – no chaos. The chaos of crying babies, kids fighting, kids laughing, kids singing…catch the common denominator? Kids. I was missing my kids!! This ‘ole pickup has been with us for 18 years. That’s a long dang time and a lot of dang memories!

When we get to towns we’ve been in for 18 years, EVERYONE knows we’re there because of the red and white dually. If we were to change pickups now, we’d go undetected while entering familiar territory! I couldn’t help but think of Jordan (our 7^th member of the family) as I looked out the back window. I am so used to seeing her in the rearview mirror that it didn’t feel right without her, either. So, there I am – driving down the road, headed for harvest and I’m missing my kids and my dog. The heartache was hitting pretty hard. Years come and years ago and it seems you never really fully think about it changing at the time it’s happening. When it changes…WHOA…it hits you like a ton of bricks! This getting old thing really changes your way of looking at things.

With all the thinking I was doing – one thought just ran into more thoughts. I thought about how hard it will be one day (soon) when all the girls stay home and it’ll just be Jim and me heading south by ourselves all the time. This leads to my thinking about being a Grandma and being gone all summer. Which makes me think about my Grandma and Grandpa and how I just always knew they were gone during the summer. If we were lucky, we’d get to go visit them for a few days or help them move. The only contact I’d have with my Grandma during summer vacation was a box of goodies once in a while. I think about those boxes and it gives me the same feeling inside now that it did when I got them in the mail as a kid. Those boxes from my Grandma were so special and it didn’t matter what was inside. Heck, I don’t even remember one thing about the contents – I just remember getting the box and how much fun it was to open. Then, I think, I will be that kind of grandma one day because I loved it and I’m sure my  grandchild(ren) will too. Thank you, Grandma, for being a role model for me and you probably didn’t even know you were at the time. Thank goodness for Grandmas (and Grandpas) who make you feel important enough to be thought of once in a while!

What will I do with my first day of Harvest 2012? Think I’ll run to Wal-Mart. Isn’t that what most harvesters do on rainy days?

I love this picture simply because it shows the past and the future in one shot. The farm buildings were built with the limestone bricks that are found all over the central Kansas countryside.

This is our new home in Burk.