The Aussie Farmer

Red asked for more info on that Aussie farmer I mentioned last week. At the risk of finding out he reads this (which I'm hopefully certain I think he doesn't...), here's the story!

In 1997 my parents moved to Australia. Dad's a pastor, and his "call" took him to a small town near Cairns. (The Aussies seem to like to dump you in the backwaters and let you work your way up from there. The fact that he's now in Sydney must mean he's on the approved list! :) ) He had charge of a few churches on the tablelands surrounding Atherton, including a bunch of rural folk. Not many eligible young men, in spite of this, but the parents soon befriended the parents of one of the few nice guys around, just a year older than me - let's call him B for now.

At the end of their first year there, a sugar-daddy-friend (whole other story!) sent my son and I over to be with them for Christmas, which started up a round of teasing of poor B, by both my parents and his (mainly the dads) that he should marry me and get me over to live in Australia that way.

You can imagine what that did to a shy farmer from the sticks! He got more and more anxious as our arrival drew close. On the day we should have met over a church lunch, he had "jippo-guts" and stayed home. To no avail - dad dragged us off to his farm right after lunch and I finally got to meet him. Nice enough chap, though very quiet at that stage. Who could blame him!

Well, we did see each other once or twice after that, but the poor chap would hide behind other folk if I came by and we never really got to say more than a few words to each other.

When I left, I sent him a note to say "no worries, I'm not after your marital status" etc, and added my email address. We got chatting a few months later, and things soon heated up (sorta - we got rather fond of each other). A mutual friend confirmed my suspicions, and I thought it was all systems go! Until E turned up, a local gal who took his fancy. They were soon dating (after I'd sent a tearful email on hearing he was trying to "choose" between us, giving him my blessing to go ahead with a relationship with a real live girl, instead of some virtual thing on the other end of the planet). I backed off and let them be. But 3 months later they split. Apparently he kept asking our mutual friend (in E's presence) how I was doing... And I'm sure there was more to the story too, which I didn't hear.

So it was back to tentative friendship via email. And it's carried on for 8 years now! He hasn't had another girlfriend in all that time, and his folks are wondering if he should be dragged off to the doctor (or so his dad says to my dad) for a checkup. Mutual friend is convinced he's waiting for me. I'm almost convinced too.

You see, he's everything I've wanted in a guy. He's tall and strong and just good looking enough that I wouldn't wake up next to him, take one look and scream! But not so good-looking that I'd constantly have to fight off the competition (like there's much that far north...). He's a very good match to my personality (at least what we know of each other) and I could see myself with him on a very longterm basis. Being a farmer just adds the cherry on the top, as it's a lifestyle I've longed for - hard work and all.

But he's a VERY LONG WAY north of where my parents currently are. Far from many things I'm used to having nearby. Far from the limited "support system" of my parents - but close to mutual friend, who is a good friend.

I know my parents struggled to adjust there for various reasons. I may too - but then again I'm totally jumping the gun! I know what's in my heart, not his.

I'm asuming that there would be something between us, something strong enough to make a future a remote possibility. I know he isn't put off by my single parent status, that he may actually LIKE having a "ready made" son around... but that's word of mouth from mutual friend.

So that's the story of the Aussie farmer, as it stands right now. I'm hoping he'll try get his butt down to Sydney while we're there (his sister stays nearby), before all those eligible bachelors at church get foisted on me by mom. I'd really like to get a face-to-face chance to talk and see if there's some spark there - or if we've been imagining it for years.

But watch this space - if it's in my head, it gets blogged! Unfortunately for the masses....:) Hey, if you have any complaints, blame Red. She asked for it.