October 1996. I was working at Fleet Farm in Fargo, ND in the service center. Me. The lone female with 16 guys or so. It was a great working environment! Fleet Farm hired this guy from Glenwood, MN that was attending NDSU, majoring in Agriculture Systems Management (ASM). I was told I was to train him on the job.
His first day he walked in wearing black Wrangler jeans, an IH belt buckle (that’s International Harvester for you non-farm followers – it’s the original red tractor brand) and a red jacket with a IH 1456 tractor on the back and “Nate” printed on the front. Blonde hair, blue eyes, all American farm boy.
My first thought was, “nice – a good looking farm boy, I can handle that.” Then a quick thought of “now that’s the kind of guy I can see myself with.” Quickly followed by “what the heck…you just ended a bad rebound relationship, the last thing you need is another guy.” Phew……good thing he is just a co-worker and someone I have to train.
Fast forward a month or two and we started dating. Yes, as Nate will tell you our whole relationship is based on a lie. I might have told a little white lie that due to being only 20 at the time that I didn’t have any alcohol in my possession and after a LONG, busy day at work (Black Friday and the opening of Toyland for those familiar with Fleet Farm) I could really use a cold beer. (I may have had a Bud Lite or 2 in my dorm fridge, who is to say?!?) Nate has always been the kind of guy who likes to visit, is truly kind hearted and like most young college guys, perhaps a tiny bit niave. He invited me over for a beer after work.
The rest is history.
One of the 1st pics we have. Ag Engineering show February 1997.
Then began the winter of 1996-1997 with record snowfall, record blizzards followed by a record flood. Nate left for Iowa for an internship and came back to Fargo in December. He proposed one year to the day since we started dating.
We finished college while planning our wedding for June 5, 1999.
Fast forward, Nate graduated from NDSU, we moved to Jackson, MN, he started his job at then Soilteq, a division of AgChem, and we got married in about four weeks time.
The wedding was an event to remember. One of our attendants was arrested the night before the wedding (underage, a bar, a another person’s ID. I still giggle every year. This person just messaged me saying how happy they were to be doing laundry last night instead of in jail!) There was a small fire on the altar during the ceremony. A whole lot of people, in the neighborhood of 400. Drank the Ramkota Hotel in Aberdeen out of beer. Cops were called in the wee wee hours of the morning for a noise complaint. My family all ran from the cops. Old faithful (a new nickname for an old friend) and so many more stories.
Our wedding party. Some of the best people in the world in this picture.
Wedding vows. In good times and in bad. In sickness and in health. For richer and for poorer. Until death do us part.
We were so very young. So excited to say those words. Little did we know that those 20+ words would be so true, so hard, so amazing, and so full of love.
My favorite pic from our wedding. We walked out of church, stopped and kissed. Totally unplanned.
18 years. We’ve celebrated good times. We’ve survived bad times and will continue to do so. We’ve supported each other through depression and anxiety and high risk pregnancy and the diagnosis of a child with a brain malformation and through whole winter’s without the stomach flu and always knowing full well that we are blessed beyond belief in the health department.
Richer and poorer. Fiscal business has to be one of the most difficult pieces of marriage. Debt. School loans. Credit cards. Vehicles. House. Medical bills. Low paying jobs. Awesome sounding jobs that just don’t materialize. Lost jobs. Pay cuts. Pay raises. Commissions. Unexpected break downs. Bad decisions. Budgets. Loans. Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. When it comes to money issues we have got this “poorer” part down to a science.
When it comes to love we get richer and richer every day.
If you know us at all, you know how true this all is. If you are new to my blog check out some past writings to learn more.
Marriage. It truly takes two. Two to make the good times and two to get through the bad times. It takes faith. Faith in God the father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Faith in yourself. Faith in your partner. Faith.
One of my favorite places to regroup. Our church, Calvary Lutheran in Grand Forks.
You see in marriage you are never alone. There have been many times where I have been physically alone while Nate may be out on the road, but in my mind and my heart…I am never alone.
Supportive. I support Nate and he supports me. Sometimes at the same time. Sometimes at different times. Sometimes for a moment or an hour or a day. Sometimes for months on end.
One of the best parts of marriage is simply knowing that someone always has your back. It is learning and growing. It is watching myself transform into a kinder and less confrontational person. It is watching Nate become a little more out spoken and sometimes being a little more realistic. (Still farming on the moon, just not the entire moon!)
Today we celebrate in two different states. I in ND with our Rockstar and Nate in MN with Little Bear. Both boys with appointments and summer activities.
Little Bear and Rockstar. Always bringing you a smile.
So begins another fun and busy summer. So begins the next 18 years of marriage. I have no idea what the next hour or day or week or year may hold for us but I don’t care. As long as we have each other, we will look to the future with hope and excitement and trust and faith.
To those that have been married for many, many years….thanks for the example and encouragement. To those newly married or about to get married….take your vows seriously. Things will be bad and things will be ugly but the good times will come and they will out shine all the rest.
Say I love you. Give hugs. Get angry sometimes. Dream together. Apologize. Love.
18 years. 7 addresses. 9 vehicles. 3 pregnancies. 2 amazing boys. 14 employers. Times of unemployment for both of us. 6 daycare providers. 5 schools. Too many funerals and weddings to count. Births of nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews. 2 individuals living 1 marriage. All from 1 day at a Fleet Farm.
Our little Farm Bureau vacation to Pittsburgh in February.
Happy Anniversary Babe! May the next lifetime be as good as all the previous ones.
MomWifeWhatAboutMe 