It's been a while

Well, it has been a while since I last posted, almost 12 months I think.

Sorry to leave you hanging for so long, but you know, been busy with stuff.

With my eldest child now moving up in the grades in SOTA I have actually had to put in a few more hours in the school room.  Not easy with a young one hanging round my ankles, but I manage (badly most days, but somehow we still get it done).

On the family front - FIL is still the same, MIL is getting gradually more sane (? how is that even possible!) and the rest of the IL's well, the less said the better.  Went to the ring with one of them, almost got physical until another IL pulled her off me.  I'm not shy about having a confrontation, but I have to admit that I was shocked when things turned so ugly so quickly.  Could be worse though.

It brought to mind an incident that happened to a friend of mine, just before she got married, we'll call her Mary.  Mary was visiting her future IL's and things got a bit heated when the discussion turned to where the newlyweds would live after the wedding (his station or hers).  Mary's future MIL didn't like some of the things that Mary had to say about their station.  MIL proceeded to chase Mary around the house and whack her with the broom.  Funny now, some 10 years in the future, but then it would have been terrifying.  

Here's your future mother-in-law, the mother of the man you love, grandmother to any of your future children - chasing you around the house and assaulting you with a broom.  Made for a very strained relationship in the future I can tell you.  And people wonder why some people don't like spending time with their in-laws!

But, you will be glad to know that there have been no such incidents here recently (note I said recently - but that's another story!).

Now for some good news.  

There's been a lot happening in Australian agriculture recently - particularly the beef cattle industry.  The halting of live exports to Indonesia was a shock and the industry is still struggling to recover, some doubt that it ever will and the face of large-scale beef cattle production has been changed forever.

Now we don't just have markets and Mother Nature to contend with, we have to face the ever-increasing threat of animal activisim in our lives.  Their ignorance and militant rabidity when it comes to animal welfare strikes fear into the heart of any reasonable primary producer and unfortunately, there are too many people willing to believe their scandalous lies.

Wait - that's not good news.

The good news is, there are some great people out there trying to promote the positives about our lifestyle and our industry and one of the best is Steph Coombes over at http://ausagventures.com/.

So do yourselves and our industry a favour and have a read and spread her blog about.  It's great reading.

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry all my loyal followers (lol!).  Things have been a bit hectic here & I haven't had time to post over the past 3 weeks or so...

We're mustering here at the moment - so of course in the midst of proceedings the MIL has to go away & leave the men to fend for themselves....

That won't do of course, so I've been trying to run 2 households (the IL's & my own), teach school to a 6yr old, wrangle a 18 month old & keep up with my community commitments.  As you all know it can be bloody exhausting!  Some help would be appreciated but (whinge time now!) I know I'm not going to get it.  I'm just trying to keep a little bit of time for myself.  I'm a terrible gardener, but I love being outside with the kids & the animals, so we spend some time with the horses every day, me grooming them and doing their feet while the kids hunt for frogs and tadpoles in the dam.  They have a great time, enjoying the freedom of 'mum's not watching' when they end up knee deep in the mud, while I quietly look on from a few metres away, resisting the urge to shout GET OUT OF THE MUD!, focussing quietly on the nags and at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the boys.  They love it, I love it and we all head in for dinner tired, dirty & mozzie bitten, but happier and a bit less stressed.

Hopefully, now we have trucked some of the steers away, I will have a bit more time to spend at the computer and entertain you all with my angst!

New Year New Me

Wow.  This is it.  Starting my own blog.  My husband suggested that I needed a place to be able to vent, share, get on my high horse and mouth off - without upsetting anyone around me.  Where to do such a thing?  The internet of course!

So, here I am.  Sharing my life and my frustrations with the world.

Why the name 'Just a Wife' you might ask.  Before all you multitasking superwomen out there get your knickers in a knot - the title 'Just a Wife' is meant to be slightly sarcastic, a little tongue-in-cheek and hopefully will speak volumes to all the other women out there just like me.

See, I am in a pretty interesting situation.  Not unique by any means, but it might seem a little odd to many others out there.  I am the wife of an eldest son on a family owned and operated agricultural enterprise.  I live with my parents-in-law, in an isolated part of Australia over 1000km away from my family, more than 400km from the nearest supermarket and the closest person my age who I have anything in common with lives more than 3 hours drive away (on a dirt road).

Before I married, I had a job, hobbies, friends, my own house and I gave it all up for love.  I don't regret it for a moment - my husband is the best, most awesome man alive (better than Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt & George Clooney all rolled into one!).  But sometimes it is really hard to go from being a real, live person to being Just a Wife.

So this blog is for the others out there like me.  Those who love their husbands and families but get a little crazy sometimes when their life takes turns that are hard to deal with.  Families are complex, dynamic and often unstable things (a bit like old explosives) and it can be hard to live with your in-laws day in and day out, removed from the 'real world' and often miles away from friends and family.

I will share my experiences with you and those of my friends (names & locations changed to protect privacy of course - because at the end of the day we still have to live with these people!).  Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry and some will make you shake your head and wonder why we just didn't pack our bags and go.  But this is my life, and for better or for worse, I chose it.  I just need to bitch about it sometimes!

Feel free to share or comment.  Pass this blog on to anyone who might benefit from it.  All those women out there who are just a wife unite! and share, learn, laugh and love with me as I share my life with you.