Confession #3: Real Love

There are those who say that real love is only a myth, while others spend their whole lives searching for it. This farmer had all but given up on the notion of love, when it caught me unawares and struck like lightning. You and I both know it’s no one’s business but my own whom I choose to love. However, since our significant others have some bearing on the course of our lives, this man is now a part of Runamuk’s story. As such, I feel his contributions deserve to be accounted for. Thus, my third and final confession is that I’ve finally found a true and real love to call my own.

Men Like Deron Whittemore

Men like Deron Whittemore really are far and few between. I think that’s shameful, honestly. The world would be a better place if more men were as good-natured, hardworking and family-oriented as this man. Perhaps, if more men were even half as honorable and compassionate, I wouldn’t have quite the chip on my shoulder as I do. Finally I have found a partner in life who seeks not to control, dominate, or dictate. This man simply seeks to help, and to co-exist─and he loves me of all people. Imagine that.

It’s a big and unusual package that I bring to the table, afterall. As appearances go, I’m no super-model, but I can hold my own. That’s not the problem. No, it’s the peculiarity of the person that I am, and all that comes with me that gave me cause for doubt. Not every guy wants a reclusive, tree-hugging, granola-type tomboyish farmer to be his woman. In fact─in my experience─most don’t.

Finding Connection

We connected online. In this day and age, I am not even going to feel guilty or embarrassed about that. We are both of us so busy in our lives that meeting someone special and finding that connection in our every day activities was never going to happen. Besides─I’m a farmer. I work on my farm. Every day of every week. Who’m I gonna meet?

Somehow though, I was inexplicably drawn to Deron. We met at Dunkin Donuts in Madison on a Friday evening. He and I were the only customers in the shop. I was spellbound sitting across the tiny table from this man with the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, a broad set of shoulders, and a large pair of work-roughened hands. The rest of the world seemed to fade away, and time stood still as we chatted over coffee. It was so simple, yet so magical.

Deron’s Journey

Deron has had his own long and difficult journey, meeting me here at this point in time with a number of scars and shadows of the past, having raised 3 kids on his own. Much like myself, the Universe tried and tested him, and the path he has walked molded him into the man he has become. Yet, through it all, Deron has remained honorable and good-natured, emerging on the other side a stronger, more compassionate man for the experience.

Like me, he is a life-long Maine native, raised in Solon, just 13 miles from where I was raised in Madison. It’s a wonder our paths never crossed. We even had kids in the same class at the district junior high lol. Funny how the Universe can bring 2 people together at just the right moment in time…

We have a lot in common, Deron and I─like our love for this region of Maine that we call home, love for the outdoors, for family and community. Deron served as Cub Scout leader of his son’s troop for many years, and is now an active member of our district school board SAD #74.

Having spent years of his career in retail management at places like Ken’s Outback Tavern and Aubuchon Hardware, Deron brings a wealth of business experience to the table. Now he works for the Union, in commercial construction because the hours and benefits work better for his family.

Deron’s Influence at Runamuk

Deron has been here, behind the scenes, for some fairly momentous milestones over the last year: the introduction of the farm’s first lambs, shearing day, and Harvest Celebration─to name a few. He’s been instrumental in some projects that were just too big for this farmer to tackle alone: closing in the hoop-house, the half-acre sea of cucurbits, 20 beds of potatoes, Hay Mission 2020, and the farm sign.

It was his influence that led me to bring back Runamuk’s CSA program, to stick with bread-making when the kitchen seemed oppressive, and to expand the garden to a full acre of vegetable production. It’s amazing how having the right person in your life can drive you to grow─on all levels, while the wrong person can hold you back in a real bad way.

Taking it Slow

We’ve been taking it slow, trying to do things right to build a strong foundation for our future together. It will be a long time before Deron comes home to the farm permanently. Afterall, it’s not just the 2 of us in this relationship, we each have children and family to think of. At middle-age, we are each walking our own path along a journey already set in motion, with our own individual goals and aspirations to fullfill.

Even so, I can’t help feeling that this love is a precious gift from the Universe─a blessing for enduring every trial and hardship put before me and emerging on the other side still filled with hope and love. Never before have I been so certain about a man. Never before have I felt I would do whatever I could to move heaven and earth for this one person. And never before have I been met at that same level by such a worthy partner. That is how I know I have finally found real love in Deron Whittemore.

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