Amanda Buus Thomsen – BT Harvesting
It never fails. At some point in a conversation with a new acquaintance, that question is asked. I try not to cringe because I know the question is asked with the best of intentions, but it’s hard.
After answering the question of what we do for a living comes the question “So, you have four or 5 months off? What do you do with all your free time?” I take a deep breath and try to answer the best I know how…to just explain that while it sounds like we have a lot of free time, we really don’t. When we’re on the road, we work crazy hours whenever we can. When we’re home, our hours are a bit more regular…like a normal person.
I think most of us create a mental to-do list of what we want to accomplish over the winter, and I am no exception. And while I didn’t get to draw that oh-so-satisfying line through every single task, I did get to check off several of them.
✔ Tax paperwork dropped off to the
accountant…early.
✔ Hired the new crew.
✔ Repainted the bedroom.
✔ Substitute taught at the local school.
✔ Took some pictures of cows (isn’t that how
everyone spends their Saturday mornings?)
✔ Helped around the shop where I could.
✔ Helped build a ramp for our dog (yes, we’re those people).
✔ Did a little traveling with the husband…to get a
new-to-us service pick-up.
✔ Visited the most awesome little guy who puts a smile on your face and things into perspective (you can check out his journey on FB at Holly Jolly Jarret).
✔ Cleaned the new-to-us service pick-up…which desperately needed it.
✔ Spent time at the HarvestHER retreat which was good for my soul. Seriously time well spent (Thank you to the sponsors, especially New Holland).
✔ Got all truck inspection, insurance, registration paperwork done for the trucks and trailers.
✔ Cleaned the new couch for the crew camper (Suggestion: if you buy furniture via social media or a marketplace app, always ask if it has any unique odors to it).
✔ Got started on my freezer preps: made twice baked potatoes and monster cookies (still need to make breakfast burritos and bierocks).
✔ Finished cleaning and preparing the crew camper for the guys who arrive…tomorrow!! It feels like we *just* finished fall harvest and put the crew camper away.
There are things that I didn’t get done, like going through all the clothes in the closets and drawers (but it wasn’t very high on my list anyway). There are things that I chose not to do, like re-organizing all the 3-ring binders for the business. And there are things that I wasn’t able to get done, like traveling home to see my family and to Denmark to see Anders’ family.
But, that’s okay. We got done what we could and we’ll make plans for this winter according to what we didn’t get done this past winter. We have a lot of time between now and then; a lot of acres to cover, farmers to see and miles to drive.
And the next time someone asks that question, I’ll take a deep breath, smile and let them know that we manage to fill our days with things that always seem to come up.
The life as a HarvestHER is never boring!