“The days are long, but the years are short” is never so true as it is for a 4-H mom, though you won’t understand that for awhile. We’re heading to the fair with your beloved moos today and I’m sure it will be some of the very best days of the year, but also push the limits of exhaustion. I’ve been a 4-H leader for a couple of decades and worked with amazing kids, but my greatest privilege has been to have a front row seat to your 4-H career over the last six years. It’s involved a whole lot of cow hair, piles of cake frosting, the whole grain flour that you’ve come to detest, more patience than I thought possible, too much paperwork, hours upon hours in the barn, and the very best memories that will forever be in my heart.  Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve watched you learn over the years.

• Growing willpower, honed at the halter of your first heifer who drug you as you battled wills, your tug-of-wars with 2,000 pound cows, and taking a heifer who refuses to walk and turning her into a beautiful animal in the ring. You have a gift with animals, and they, in turn, have given you a perseverance that will carry you far. 
• Appreciating the power of friendships. I’m not sure if you see the helping hands who have made it all possible, but someday you will look back and realize lifelong friends came from the Boone County 4-H Fair.
• Understanding the highs and lows of breeding animals. The pure pride on your face when your first homebred heifer “Lucky” was selected as champion – and the frustration while she has battled a nasty infection all year. The pain of losing our “Peppermint”, the ability to understand when it’s time to sell animals – and be grateful for the privilege of caring for them so they can provide people with food. 
• Figuring out time management and finding your limits. I see you go from from working in the barn early to basketball practice to wrestling cattle for hours to running a 10K at 9:30 p.m. I don’t know how you do it all, and you wear me out, but girl – you do know how to work! Just remember to enjoy life, too!
• Learning about politics in some projects, people who make different choices in integrity, and from those who suffer from inflated egos. It’s not all roses – and that’s O.K. – because life isn’t, either. 
• Managing disappointment when a judge uses words like “poor effort” with an apple spice cake after you had carefully created your own recipe as a 10 year-old, your rolls didn’t bake perfectly evenly – and laughing about it later (years later). 
• Understanding that others watch you. Finding ways to lead by example, even when you don’t feel like you are.

What will you walk away with after your 4-H career? I don’t know – that will be your story to tell. As you approach your final few years, I wish you joy. Joy in the imperfections, like the speck of manure on your showmanship cow, the paint that doesn’t go on a project perfectly, the pie that’s not a work of art, or the cake decorating flower that doesn’t quite meet your standard. Joy in the time on the wash rack with friends and how your family steps up for you. Joy in the opportunity to be in 4-H – it is a privilege. Joy in sharing that and serving others. Purple banners are pretty, but JOY is what you’re more likely to carry in your heart for a lifetime. Thank you for bringing me immense amounts of joy in these memories. Now let’s go make our girls sparkle!