I pulled up some Facebook memories today. I found this post from 2019:
The livestock barn was so peaceful at 5am, steers were passed out, I swear some of them were snoring. Almost hated to make any sound at all to disrupt the peacefulness before the busy day begins.
This year is the last although it is much different from the rest. This year there won't be a week long stay for show animals in the show barn. There won't be a wash rack to wash them on. The smell of fresh wood chip bedding won't waft into the air jarring the memories of county fair. There won't be any sitting around in front of large fans with friends and family while your show animals settle in their stalls.
My daughter thought the summer before her Senior year would be as it always has been. We take for granted the fact that this time will happen again. The moments are cherished nearly enough until we know there will be none. And then we realize they were more important than they seemed. We will be at the fair this year with two show steers as we have for the last five years but the memories of before will not be repeated.
When you think, oh, we'll do that again, we'll do that later, we'll do that next year, remember this moment in our history where nothing is expected to ever be the same. Enjoy the moments now and really enjoy them for you might never get a chance to repeat them.
Some people say we will never be the same and maybe it's a good wake up call to really appreciate the things that we hold dear.
However, it's not the way I thought we would say goodbye to 4H and FFA.
