1. We spent hours watching out the back window of the combine- We can't really explain it but for some reason watching corn fill up in the combine was extremely entertaining. It was about as entertaining as a SpongeBob Marathon. Of course, we weren't afraid to tell Dad that it was time to dump when we could no longer see light out the back window. Watching all the grain cycle out of the combine was just as entertaining as watching it all flow in. Don't ask why or how, but the back window was basically the TV of the combine.
2. We sat on an arm rest and didn't once complain about it- Now some of the luckier farm kids had dads who weren't too cheap to get a buddy seat for their tractors. My dad is cheap. The arm rest was all I had to work with, but I didn't mind one bit. Yes my butt was extremely sore after about 15 minutes (if it hadn't fallen asleep at that point), but every wedgie was worth it. Seeing Dad during harvest season was rare, so when you got some precious time with him, you didn't complain about petty details such as seating arrangements.
3. We thought the co-op was the candy store for the longest time- One of the best perks about farming with Dad was the multiple trips to the co-op. The co-op was home to some of the oldest fashion yet best candy bars ever, which meant a little puppy dog eyes during a sample test went a long way with Dad. Granted, we usually had to settle with whatever he wanted so we could split, but hey candy is candy. Our dads never bought candy for us at a store or gas station, but something about the atmosphere of the co-op made him a little more giving.
4. We walked for miles in cornfields after they had been harvested- No ear was left behind. Growing up, we walked row after row in corn fields picking up ears that the combine somehow missed or dropped. Finding full ears was like finding a small cob of gold. You learned real quick the ends rows were the gold mines of the field, and you felt so proud when you walked up to your dad holding a dozen or so ears. Looking back, we were basically used as free labor, but at the time we felt like we had one of the most important jobs on the farm. (My dad conned my into doing this by saying the corn I used would feed the squirrels even though we didn't ever have a squirrel feeder)
5. We took many naps in the cab- After a long day at daycare or school, nothing was more relaxing than a couple hour long tractor ride. The system was so monotonous and quiet that it was a prime environment for naptime. Somehow amongst the bumps and multiple speed changes, we slept unfathomed. Saying our necks were a little sore the next day would be a huge understatement, but it didn't stop us from doing it the next time we rode with Dad. Any nap is a good nap, and cab naps are no exception.
6. We thought our dad has the coolest job in the whole world- The day after a combine ride with dad, all that your friends heard you talk about was farming. You bragged about everything you did and how cool your dad was. We wanted to be farmers just like him. Now that we are grown up, we realize our dad really did have the coolest job in the world: He got to feed the world. Not every kid got to experience what we did growing up. We were part of the minority and thanks to our memories, we will never forget just how lucky we were to grow up with a dad who was a grain farmer.