It Just Feels Right

As my parents put me on a plane for Dartmouth College in September of 1993, my mother’s parting words were “Anne, stay away from the senior boys…”  I smiled, gave them both a hug, and determinedly walked aboard the aircraft ready to start my life as a college student.

Six weeks later, I looked across the room at a fraternity party and I knew that my world was about to change. 
There was a great looking blue eyed boy (with devil’s horns glued to his forehead) smiling and heading my way.  Our conversation that night was short as I had an early swim team practice the following morning and he had imbibed plenty of beer…but we were destined to meet up again a couple weeks later.  I still remember what t shirt and jeans he was wearing that first night…And I will never forget the first time that I saw those blue eyes and gorgeous smile off-set by ridiculous looking devil’s horns!  I had found my “senior boy”.

We had our first date Thanksgiving weekend as we both stayed on campus due to sports practice obligations.  I casually asked him where he was from…He replied, “Nebraska.  My dad’s a farmer”.  I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu that night because I was worried that a farmer from Nebraska did not have very much money…Coming from urban Palm Beach County Florida my experience with “Nebraska farmers” was pretty limited!

Apart from swimming, football practice, and class; we were rarely seen outside of each other’s company.  Our team mates and his fraternity brothers teased us unmercifully, but we both recognized that we were soul mates.  We got a dog together the following spring…My mother inquired if I was aware of how long dogs lived?  Taylor (the dog) lived a long and comfortable life before passing away at age 13 and 1/2.  Matt will tell anyone who will listen that Taylor was our first child…

Much to my parents surprise and dismay, we got engaged on my 20^th birthday and married the summer before my senior year in college.  No matter how odd it seemed to our family and friends to marry so early, it felt right to us.  We spent the first year of our marriage at Dartmouth and then moved to Nebraska two days after I received my B.A. in psychology, and Matt received his Masters of Engineering.

Matt and I are the only two Dartmouth College graduates that live in rural Nebraska.  We are often asked why we moved to rural America after having received Ivy League degrees.  The answer is simple:  it felt right.  Today (15 years later), we raise crops, cattle, and three beautiful daughters in what I fondly call “God’s Country”.  Our life together is full of challenges as we work hard to care for our animals and quite literally “feed the world”.  You can follow our family and our adventures at http://feedyardfoodie.com .   

I still like to tease my mom about “those senior boys” that she warned me to stay away from.  She just laughs and tells me that with three daughters of my own that I will one day worry about them too!