by Megan Overby, NDFB Northeast Field Representative
Love was in the air this past week as Valentine’s Day came and went. In celebration of the holiday, gifts are often exchanged between loved ones. I enjoyed scrolling through social media and seeing pictures of beautiful flower arrangements, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, and handwritten notes. In our household, however, my husband and I tend to stray from the ‘norm’ when it comes to gift-giving.
Don’t get me wrong… like most women, I long for a bouquet of flowers on Valentine’s Day. This year, my husband had a different idea up his sleeve. It was a gift that would keep on giving.
We’ve been attending several cattle production sales over the past month. While we typically purchase bulls at these sales, my eye was on bred heifers I’d like to add to our cattle herd. One day, out of the blue, my husband gave me the go-ahead to pick out any heifer I wanted (within reason) and said, “That’s your Valentine’s Day gift.” I was shocked and immediately started flipping through sale books in search of the perfect female.
It didn’t take me long to find ‘the one.’ She was a purebred black Simmental heifer with a lot of eye appeal. We took a look at her on sale day and anxiously waited to put in a bid. To my surprise, we were able to buy her! My husband and I left the sale with smiles on our faces and four additional bred heifers to add to our herd.
If you’re wondering where my husband acquired his unconventional gift-giving skills, he learned from one of the best – my dad! I honestly could write an entire blog post about my dad’s quirky habits and all of the stories he tells. However, I will spare you an entire blog post and instead share one of my favorite Valentine’s Day memories involving him.
Like my husband, my dad isn’t a flower-giving type of man. Yet, one year he managed to hand-pick my mom a Valentine’s Day ‘bokay.’ It wasn’t your typical flower arrangement, and naturally it was free and came from the heart. Here’s a picture of what my mom found outside of the shop on Valentine’s Day in 2012.
Please excuse the old, blurry cell phone photo (technology has come a long way since 2012!) Since it is hard to read, I’ll interpret what the sign says.
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
If you don’t love this bokay…
Well, the heck with you.
– Love, Mr. Romance
We all got a good laugh out of this romantic gesture and my mom proudly posted the picture on Facebook. It’s surely a gift she’ll never forget!
As I was completing this blog post, my husband sent me a post he found on the High Bar Cattle Company Facebook page. It was fitting for Valentine’s Day and too good not to share. The title was The Five Love Languages of Ranchers. If you’re familiar with Gary Chapman’s book series that covers the different types of love languages, the phrases shared in the post should give you a good chuckle.
- Words of Affirmation: “You look great in your muddy coveralls.”
- Acts of Service: “I’ll take the 2 a.m. calving check.”
- Physical Touch: “You have cow poop on your face, I’ll wipe it off for you.”
- Quality Time: “Do you want to come feed cows with me and possibly get the gates?”
- Receiving Gifts: “I bought you a calf warmer and some heated socks.”
I have to admit, this depicted our love languages to a T. We shared a good laugh over it because I’m fairly certain we’ve exchanged each of those phrases a time or two. There is never a dull moment at our place.
Whether you received a special ‘bokay,’ a sweet treat, or even a new herd edition for Valentine’s Day, I hope it was spent with those you love. My husband and I didn’t do anything too special. We spent the evening retagging replacement heifers and enjoying a good meal at our local bar and grill. It was a picture-perfect Valentine’s Day in my book!
myndfblife 