Well, we made it.  The farmer actually left the farm for nearly 4 1/2 days.  Now, granted it is winter and a little easier to get him away.  But, to really get rest and get refreshed he has to be physically away from the farm or he finds some little project that “won’t take long” and he is gone for the day.  The kids were all set up at the grandparents (happily for all!) and we left.  A quick flight to Chicago to a great hotel on Michigan Avenue, just the two of us.  Maybe at this point, this seems like a normal getaway that some couples regularly take.  Or perhaps other farm wives are starting to figure out by timing and location what is the true motive behind all this.  That’s right…you got it…a conference for farmers!   When I said it was just the two of us, it was just two of us from our house and 800 other farmers who took the chance to get away too.  As a farm wife, sometimes these are the best opportunities to spend with a husband though.  He slept past 5am since there was no big project lurking outside beckoning him to come get started.  We ate 3 meals a day together and talked to grown-ups.  I don’t pretend to know or understand a lot of the market projections and crop talks, but I do get a better idea of what my husband works with all the time.  I pick up tiny tid-bits along the way.  In reality, it really is a romantic getaway because it was about us spending time together and understanding our future goals and plans for farm, family and beyond.  The kids are already asking us to go again next year so they can stay so many days at the grandparents.  The husband is asking to go again next year too, so we can be together.  He said it was more fun for me to be there. Ok, I’ll probably go.