FAQ

Now that there are potentially tens of people reading this blog, I thought I would answer some frequently asked questions (FAQ) about how I came to straddle two worlds.

You can be the friendly suburban-dwelling co-worker (FSDC) and I will be, well me.

Farm people never ask me questions. They all assume I'm a teacher, because they know I'm not compassionate enough to be a nurse--and what other job would a woman have?


I have had this EXACT conversation dozens of times:

Me: ...and I won't be able to attend the TPS meeting next week because I'll be on vacation. We're headed to the Indiana State Fair.

Friendly Suburban-Dwelling Co-worker (FSDC): Wow, that's interesting. [huh?]

Me: Didn't I tell you before? We live on a farm.

FSDC: A real farm? What do you farm?

Me: We have pigs and dairy cows and the odd sheep. My husband is a farmer.

FSDC: A real farmer?? [picturing a man in overalls, missing teeth]

Me: Yes, he's a professional farmer. He has a college degree. [I always try to work that in. It never fails that when co-workers meet my husband in person, they say, "he doesn't look like a farmer." As if they expected him to come to the event barefoot and wearing a straw hat.]

FSDC: How did you meet a farmer?

Me: I met him at the county fair, where else?

FSDC: Did you grow up on a farm? [Weren't there fraternities at her college? She had to pick up a guy at the county fair?]

Me: Well, I grew up in the country on more of a "hobby farm." I was in 4-H and had some pigs. We grew up in the same town. [It was well known that I had a crush on my way-in-the future husband from a young age, so every year when we went to buy our pigs from his family, my Dad would yell "put on your prom dress, we're going to the farm."]

FSDC: Where is there a farm around here? How long is your commute?

Me: I live 15 miles from here.

FSDC: Really?? What's the name of the town?

Me: Where else would a farmer live? Farmersville.