Like a night at the county fair
Small town summers are made around it. Prizes are won and lost at it. Chris Ledoux and Tim McGraw sang songs about it. That's right. I have survived another year of the county fair.
Ever since I was a young tike, I have loved the county fair. When I was younger, I longed to show my cattle, walk around the bright midway lights with my friends, listen to my Papaw's stories of past adventures and vehicles at the car show, and crawl up on the family wagon that we parked arena-side to cheer on the annual PRCA rodeo. These are parts of the county fair I still enjoy, but they are a little different now.
I watch the same excited and anxious looks I had on the junior's faces as I help them get ready for the livestock show. I cheer them on from the sidelines and offer help and guidance when needed. Instead of getting to miss school, I am now responsible for the ones that do. My family and I show in the open show, a one-night appearance of friendly competition fit in between busy schedules and jobs. I do not go to the car show anymore...I still enjoy all the vintage cars but it isn't the same since Papaw passed. Now, at the rodeo, you can find me working in the concession stand slinging burgers and sodas or sitting with my husband in the least crowded area we can find.
The county fair brings back a lot of cherished memories of the sunny slopes of long ago. It brings back stories I have told too many times but that I will never forget. This year, for some reason, it brought thoughts of life in general. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or the sweet aroma of barn dust, but it got me thinking. Ever since I realized my love of livestock showing, something told me it would be in my life for a long time. So far, that has been true.
When I first started teaching, I was honestly worried. I had so many friends that talked about how the knew from the time they were small that they wanted to be a teacher. That they had always felt a tugging or a calling in that direction and that they knew in their heart that's what they were meant to do. I did not feel that tugging. I did not hear a call, other that my friend telling me I needed to apply for the job. I did not know in my heart that I needed to be a teacher. As a matter of fact, I had spent my college years and the years following fighting that idea. I did not believe I had the patience or the right demeanor to be a teacher. And, coming from an office and line of work that was male-dominated, I knew I was going to have to keep some things in check.
Something this week stuck in me though. I love helping kids learn about livestock. It's about helping them get started and seeing their faces when they get that first ribbon. It's about the atmosphere of a barn and the lessons that are learned there. I love the comradery that can be made and kept through a livestock showing setting. It's about letting kids get a taste of something that helped shape who I am today. It's about the profound impact caring and bonding with an animal can have on a person. I love teaching real-world lessons that come from exposure to a little responsibility. It's about getting to know the kids and being in their corner.
I am not sure that we all have one single calling our whole life. Maybe we have different callings at different points in our lives, or maybe we are just put in situations in life for distinct purposes. Maybe as we grow and develop as human beings the winds of change take us through the different seasons in our lives (cue Monster's Inc quote here). They blow us through the new life and growth of spring and the sunny muggy days of summer. Through the crisp beautifully-colored days of fall and into the cold snaps of winter. Each season with its ups and downs, and each with its own unique purpose and beauty.
Maybe mine can be found in a show barn or in a classroom, or maybe a little of both. I do know I have felt a tug and a pulling toward animals and cattle for a long time. I feel that call to look after ours until whatever purpose they have is fulfilled. We feed them, doctor them, and look after them. We help them bring new life into the world, and sometimes we are even there when they say goodbye to it. Caring for animals is not a job that is taken lightly, but it is not a job without tremendous rewards.
In the Bible, Mordecai tells Esther who knows but what she has not been put into her exact situation for "such a time as this." I definitely do not have all the answers, nor do I know what is on the horizon. I know that I am immensely grateful for everything God has given me in life and that nothin' Chris Ledoux knows of can make you fall in love like a night at the county fair.
