The Eve of the Last Fair

This is the eve of fair for us, more specifically it is the eve of the last fair as a 4-H family for us. I must admit that this last is probably the toughest one for me. To say 4-H has been a large part of our life is the biggest understatement I can make and to say the last fair is tough is also not the whole truth. Next year and next summer are going to be different.

My kids were involved and active in the fair probably earlier than most. When Dad is the Extension Agent life stops for the rest of the family and the fair consumes all the time for that week. Jennifer always told everyone that she was an Extension widow and that statement was completely honest and true.

Our fair involvement started with Jethro, the bucket calf, and will end with Captain, the steer. Both were black cattle but miles apart in type. Jethro was a half Holstein bottle calf and Captain is a show steer and that is fitting because the difference in the two calves represents the distance we have traveled as a 4-H family.

4-H has taken our family places we never dreamed it would have. Ten years ago, we started the sheep project with two lambs (I should remember their names, but I don’t) and this coming year we will lamb nearly a hundred ewes all because of the experience we had with the 4-H sheep project. Isaac’s Southdown flock is paying his way through college and vet school and it started with one whether named Rambo (the story of how he got the name is a good one, but one I don’t have space for).

The transformation that 4-H has had on all of us is incredible. Both Isaac and Tatum are planning careers in agriculture and both can attribute their future career plans back to skills learned and experiences they have had through 4-H. The leadership, work ethic and knowledge they gained working on their projects cannot be matched through any other channel. More importantly, 4-H has ignited a passion in both of my kids for agriculture that I am eternally grateful for.

Most important in our 4-H experience are the people we have met and the friends we have made. At the fair each year we have a tradition of meeting at the campers and sitting in a circle talking about the days events, life in general and, most importantly, decompressing for a bit. This gathering has become known to us as the circle of friends. The name may be a bit tongue in cheek but not really.

I remember as a young agent with a young family how we felt so included when we were invited into the group. That was when I started to realize just how important and how big of an impact the fair and 4-H can have. It was hard each year to see the families on their last fair and that seemed so far away and suddenly that family is my family. It happened in the blink of an eye and I am not sure I am ready for it.

I have hope because as the agent I saw many families graduate and move on but almost all of them came back. That is good because the hardest thing for me to imagine is life without the circle of friends. The experiences, skills, opportunities and lessons learned through 4-H are important, but the most valuable thing gained are the relationships.

So as Tatum sprints down this last straight away of the marathon that has been our family’s involvement in 4-H I am sure there will be many “dark glasses” moments in the next couple of days. I say family because 4-H is truly a family experience, all of us, Isaac, Tatum, Jennifer and I have been truly moved and affected by the program. It is time to move on and view life from a different angle, but it is also sad know in that we are moving on past something that has truly been so important to us.

So, I sit here reflecting on the rockets, the pies, skirts and benches that have been exhibited with varying degrees of success. I think about the sheep; Toots, Twinkle Toes, Fuzzy and Wuzzy, Poppy the Shroppy, and Rambo. I remember the cattle; Jethro, Blaze, Glory, T-Bone and of course, Captain and it is hard to think of a summer without 4-H critters and projects. I assure you that the last weekend in July will be a whole lot calmer and less stressful, but it will also be a little less fulfilling next year.

In the end, the next five days will be both tough and happy. I am so grateful that we were blessed to experience the wonders of 4-H and the county fair. It was an experience I wish more families could have and one that I will never forget or regret. I hope this year I will have a bit of time to sit back, reflect and soak up the experience. This will truly be a fair to remember.