Are you Kidding Me?

This Christmas my husbands extended family rented a time share in Fairmont. We arrived 2 days after his immediate family. A van full of 1 playpen, 2 suitcases, 2 snowboards and 1 pair of skis, many toys, 12 books, 2 favorite teddy bears, 2 pots, 10 pounds of potatotes, 3 blankets, 1 bag of tolietries, 1 cooler, 1 box of dry food, 4 pairs of snow pants and so much more. Upon arrival we decide to bring our girls in and survey the situation.

To enter the timeshare you walk through a door into a small hallway that is shaped like a Y. It contains a closet on the right with a washer and dryer. If you go to the left you enter the larger of two suites. It has a large kitchen, eating area and living room. It has one bedroom which is the master bedroom and it has a king sized bed and ensuite. There is also a second bathroom off the kitchen. My MIL and Grand-MIL are sleeping in this suite.

If you go to the suite on the right, you will find the smaller suite. We were told this would be ours. It has a kitchette, small living room, one bedroom and one bathroom. My BIL (B stands for Brother) has claimed the king sized bed in the only bedroom in this suite. Our family is meant to sleep on the double hid-a-bed in the living room. We decide to make the best of it and pull the bed out. It needs to be made but we expected that. The mattress is in terrible condition. If you sit at the head of the bed the bed flips up and your feet are in the air and your bum has fallen into no mans land.

Are you kidding me? My single brother in law is sleeping in a kingsize bed while my husband and I sleep on a double hide a bed in a common area with our girls and all our stuff. His response... "Why should I always sleep on the hid a bed?" Why? I'll tell you why.

Because he is single and can sleep on the cushy leather couch as a single and we can not. We must sleep on the hid a bed.
Because there is one of him and two of us. We need more room. We should have the bigger bed.
Because our girls are sleeping in a main room and he is out partying. He must walk through our sleeping space to get to his.
Because we are married and need more privacy (wink, nudge, nudge).
Because I have a miserable cold and am having trouble sleeping as it is.

And so goes the first night. I am going to go crawl into my hid-a-bed with my husband and hug my box of kleenex.

My Husband

I love being married. I love being married to my husband. My husband is one of the hardest working men I know and I must admit I feel taken care of by him. Being married to him does have it's perks. I can honestly say I have never changed a flat tire and while I may understand the theory behind it I doubt I will ever do it with my husband around.

Shortly after we were married his family decided to sell off the farm equipment and have an auction. We spent many weekends at the farm preparing for the big sale and it was during this time that I witnessed my husband in his true element. My heart swelled with pride as I watched him back the tractor up to endless pieces of equipment without the slightest hesitation. While most people would have to backup, pull forward, turn this way or that countless times in order to line up the hitch to the equipment my husband did not. He got in the tractor and backed up perfectly aligned time after time. He was quick and efficient and had obviously done this a number of times.

I have also seen him come from rotatilling the garden covered from head to toe with back dirt and all I could see was the whites of his eyes and his teeth revealed from his big goofy grin. The man loves his tractors and is never quite as happy as when he is on them.

People have asked me a number of times why were are moving to the farm. Why would we leave Calgary when we have good jobs, friends, a great home church? Why would we leave a finacially comfortable position to a life time of debt? Why would we move so that we can commute for 2 hours a day to jobs in Calgary and what is a born and raised city girl going to do on a farm?

Few people get the opportunity to witness their spouse doing what they love and in their element. When my husband gets on a tractor it is a sight to witness. When he chases cows, he is posed and confident. So when we move to the farm I am going to watch my husband live out his dream. He is going to drive tractors and chase cows, he is going to be covered from head to toe in dirt and he is going to mow grass (probably at 7 in the morning). And he is going to smile! Don't get me wrong my husband is happy but moving to the farm is a dream. It's a lifestyle and it's one that was almost lost. What we lose is distance we are gaining in life.