While many are planning the perfect Valentine’s Day with a dinner out, including flowers and chocolates, I’m sure my special day will be spent in a barn. I chuckle at the thought, especially considering that is indeed how I met my husband, Scott, of almost 20 years now—in a cow barn.
Yes, I met Scott in a sales area covered with wood shavings and brown cows with the power to make good cheese being auctioned off. Bidding on Jersey cows in Louisville, Ky., to take back home to his farm in East Moline, Ill., I spotted my future husband, who was tall, dark and handsome. And, as cheesy as it might sound, when his calloused, yet gentle hands embraced mine in a formal introduction, we both knew then and there, that we had found true love.
While Scott always likes to tell people now about how we met by laughing and saying, “I brought home more than just the cow,” truth be told, we did not start dating until nearly 18 months after our first encounter.
Five hundred miles of corn rows separated us at the time; I was living in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Scott was living in northwest Illinois. I changed jobs and switched states, feeling that I would need to live in the same state as Scott, if we were ever to marry.
Over time, Scott and I have had three children, who now are 18, 16 and 12, and the farm has grown from 90 to 650 milking cows. This June marks our twentieth wedding anniversary. Yes, for us our farm is a special place; with cows and tractors in the background and family and friends by our side, Scott and I married on a hot summer day on our family farm. Bohnert Jersey Farm is more than just a place we milk cows and grow crops; it’s a home, where we have raised our family.
So, no, I’m not ashamed to report that on the most romantic day of the year, I’m spending it with the one I love, surrounded by cows and acres that have helped bale together our family of five.
While likely there will be no big romantic night out, I’m okay with that. Our lives might be simple, but our love is solid. And for us, Valentine’s Day still means our dairy farm must operate, so we will strap on our rubber boots and pull on our coveralls and spend time caring for our Jersey cows in the barn as a family.
How do you plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day?
