I have been struggling, Struggling with what you ask? Yes, I've got a moral dilemma.....Should I shamelessly brag about how much fun it was to watch a great young man show my sheep? Should I go ahead and share with my blogging pals? HMMMM... Ok, ok I'm weak, I have to tell you. Our county fair was one of the most positive show ring experiences that I've seen in a while. They had a great judge for the kids, I didn't always agree with his placings, but he put a supreme effort into making sure the kids went away with a positive experience and I thought that took a fair amount of skill for anyone. Great exhibitors, great spectators and a great show committee, it just doesn't get a lot better than that.
At one point, when Clayton (the young man taking my sheep as his 4-H project) got 2nd place in showmanship, he and I were both crying. This was Clayton's first year with sheep, so the 2nd place had a lot of meaning. I told him that the 3 blues and the red that he received had so much meaning to me because I had just lost Abby, her mom, 7 days prior to that show. His response was to smile, give me a big hug and then he looked down at his plaque and ribbon and said, "I want you to have these". I'm a pretty tough gal, but that was my undoing, I was crying like a baby in front of the whole sheep barn. (I'll give you a second to stop snickering at me).........
I explained to Clayton that the plaque belonged to him, that he had earned it and all I really wanted was a picture of him, his plaque and his million dollar smile for my wall. He spent a lot of hours working with those sheep and he even came out to help vaccinate & worm sheep, and helped with baling hay on another occasion Are we going to do it again next year??? HECK YA! (big grin)
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| Clayton and Alabama in Beginner Showmanship |
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| Clayton and Cadillac in the ram class |
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| Clayton and Alabama after Showmanship class |
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| Cadillac, Alabama and Clayton with his plague |
Did I mention how much fun I had? I did? Sorry, but it was a lot of fun and reminded me of why I loved 4-H so much when I was a kid.
Plague? I'm staying away from him! LOL. :)
ReplyDeleteJust LOOK at that smile! What a cutie. It looks like you've got yourself a first rate 'shepherd in training'!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy, he's a great kid, and he worked so hard to be able to take them to the fair. I told him that I'd put a sheep in his own name for next year. That's the fun part of having the sheep.
ReplyDeleteThe Shetlin Plague! not as destructive as the Black Plague but equally discomforting.
ReplyDeleteFunny, aren't ya Tyler? My son the wise @$$. I have no idea where he gets that.
ReplyDeleteThat smile is worth 10 thousand plaques! God Bless you!
ReplyDeleteOh Kelly, what a great post! I'm so happy for both you and Tyler. And how sweet of him to offer you his ribbons. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone, I know I sounded kinda silly, but I was so tickled that we all had such fun doing this show. I could have cared less where the sheep placed, I simply wanted the young man to have a good time. Mission accomplished.
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