All Hail the "Hefty Wife"

---this is somewhat dated. It's been languishing in my draft folder for a while---

One cold, dark January morning, I found myself standing in the chicken yard, in the dark, in the bitter cold, bracing against the diggin’ bar while holding a flashlight, before breakfast… I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

this is a photo of a diggin' bar, in the dark, in the chicken yard
(you will have to imagine the cold)

And, then the Boss laughed out loud when I said...

It sure is a good thing I am a hefty wife!  

…and while I know I need to lose more than a few pounds (at least that’s what that silly little BMI chart says) I’m not making any sort of self-deprecating statements or feeling bad about myself. I take more than a little pride in being "a hefty wife"!

I guess I should explain.

Years and years ago, a friend told the story of an older farmer who insisted that every farmer needed a hefty wife.  And, he was happy to note that the younger farmer’s wife fit the bill. Confused and fully aware that his own wife was looking daggers at both of them, the younger farmer listened intently for clues. Obviously, the old farmer didn’t mean a big or fat woman, his own wife was fairly trim and the younger farmer’s wife was a teeny-tiny little thing.  No, he simply meant that unlike some of their more dainty counterparts, a good farm wife needed to be thoroughly involved with the operation, ready to pitch in at a moment’s notice and possess enough strength and stamina to work as a full partner to the farmer.  Whether it’s catching/vetting livestock, driving truck/tractor or planting/harvesting crops, it helps to be substantial enough to get the job done.

Gardening, preserving food for winter, milking, cooking, cleaning, veterinarian duties…the jobs that fall to the farm wife are multitudinous. Strength (both physical and that of character) is an absolute necessity.

Then there are the millions (no exaggeration here at all!) of times that the farmer says (in one way or another) “Dear…can you lend a hand?” 

Even though the original source of the phrase has been lost through the passage of time (or maybe the wrong woman heard it without explanation and “offed” the poor old guy, I don't know), it brightens up even the most mundane of tasks.

And, while it’s probably more than a little self-serving…I just want to say…

                         All hail the hefty wife! 

She’s a necessity on any farm.

Proudly serving since 1984.

**as for the reason I was in the chicken yard with a diggin’ bar, in the dark, before breakfast...

I was helping the Boss re-position the mobile henhouse in preparation for some frigid weather heading this direction. Any chicken moves are done before the chickens go outside for the day. (that way we don’t add chicken-chasing to the “to-do” list) With our very un-level land, one side needed to be up on a jack.  The wheel of the house kept pushing the jack along the frozen ground. The Boss couldn’t drive the tractor and keep the jack in place. “here…lend a hand!”  and he handed me the digging bar. By putting my weight against the bar, and leaning against the jack while he pushed with the tractor…the house rolled neatly into place…just in time for breakfast.  

YES!**