Farewell to "Tina"

The Salt Lake County Fair and Gage's first year in 4-H has come to an end. Gage spent hours and hours working with his sheep at the farm, breaking it to lead, practicing how to show it in front of the judge, feeding and jumping his lamb. Not to mention 4-H meetings and trainings, service projects, and a portfolio. It has been an awesome experience for him, and for me as well. It has been great for Gage and I to have some time together, and because we were both rookies we learned a lot together too. I think if you have the oppertunity every kid should try this at least once. There are great lessons to be learned when you are responsible for another living thing. Things are a little obscure in the beginning, not knowing what needs to be done and when. Then when you get to the fair, you just commit your whole week to hanging out there to do whatever might need to be done.

Then the big day arrives. Nerves are high, sponsors are locked in and your little boy is at the mercy of the judge and a lamb that may or may not behave no matter the amount of training he put in. Its a sweet little victory when as the rookie, he places 2nd in his group in market (how good your lamb is) and is invited back to the star class, and 3rd in his group in showmanship (how well you handle yourself and the lamb).

Then comes the auction. From the beginning you know this animal is being raised not as a pet, but as an animal that will go to the packer to be slaughtered. I warned Gage against naming him. Which he unaffectionately did anyway, "Tina" (because it was as stubborn as Napolean Dynamite's Llama.) But somewhere along the way I didn't take my own advice. I fell in love with the farm and the stupid sheep, and after we cleaned out pens tonight and marked them and sent them away it was hard to hold back the tears I knew were bound to come all week, I just expected them to come from Gage. When we got home tonight I sent Gage in to get ready for bed and I had a cry in my car. I told Greg earlier today that I felt bad knowing the lamb's fate and he told me that I wasn't a very good farmer. And well, he's right. Gage on the other hand did his job and when I asked if he said goodbye to it he said "Yes, and I told it not to be so stubborn in heaven." If that isn't his dad's matter-of -fact out look on life I couldn't give you a better example.

Who could have known all the lessons we would learn in 4 1/2 months.