If you’re a farm wife, you are about to embark on one of the most stressful seasons of the year: Planting season. And it’s all because you fell in love with a farmer.

You’re probably already dealing with a man who knows he should have “been in the fields two weeks ago” and “will never get the beans planted if this weather keeps up.”

He has driven around the county three times today to see if anyone is knifing in anhydrous or breaking ground of any sort. He wakes up entirely too early to head to the shop to pace around the equipment and make sure it’s all ready to go when he can get into the field – next week.

You wish you could fly to the beach until planting season was over but you know he would text you to run for a part or ask you to call the dealership to see if the part is in yet.

His patience is wearing thin, your patience is wearing thinner and you wonder why you didn’t take your mom’s advice and marry that handsome young engineer who makes six figures working 9-5 at the auto manufacturing plant.

As you ponder your early decisions in life, your memory wanders over the first time you saw your husband.

You took his hat at the 4-H meeting hoping to get his attention. He was all you thought about for months after the county fair was over.

And, in the privacy of your bedroom, you scrolled your first name with his last name all over your notebook just to see how it looked.

When he picked you up in his truck for your first date you knew he was all you wanted for the rest of your life. And when he slipped that ring onto your finger, you opened the first page of your storybook life.

You began to carve out your farm life together and it was fun at first, but then it became more and more challenging. Repairs, setbacks, high interest rates and volatile commodity prices took their toll, but when you fell into bed at night, exhausted and he wrapped that big, grease-stained hand around yours,  you knew everything was going to be okay.

Raising your children was another challenge, but when that blue-eyed 6-year-old boy walked out the door with his daddy to plant corn, a satisfying warmth swept over you providing a peace beyond understanding. And when you watched your teenagers work side by side with their father taking every sweaty step together, you knew something was going right.

There have always been times of trouble, heartbreak, devastation and hopelessness, but your decision to steal his hat, walk down the aisle and stick with him at every difficult turn has been a life you wouldn’t trade for anything.

So, buckle up – it’s time for planting season and you play an integral role on the farm. One that can’t be filled by anyone else … all because you fell in love with a farmer.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.