It is Tuesday again and time forTuesday Tunes, and also day 9 of the and Ultimate Blogging ChallengeandNablopomo. My selection for today is "Good Riddence (Had the Time of Your Life) performed by Green Dayand here is why. I was up at the butt crack of dawn this morning rushing my daughter to the fairgrounds for judging. She is in 4H. This year she decided to try her hand at the “Foods” project which required her to bake pretzels and also freeze a vegetable. Having never participated in this project myself, I didn’t know what to expect. We were both shitting bricks going in. She had baked her sweet braided pretzels last night and froze a blend of a cauliflower and broccoli following the divine wisdom of Betty Crocker and her 4H manual. God only knows that I had no experience in preserving foods. My idea of getting around frozen food is hitting the local grocery store’s freezer section.
We were there at 8:30 this morning. The judging really wasn’t that bad and in the end my girl took home a blue ribbon for both of her entries. I am so proud of her. I realized today though that 4H isn’t about the ribbons. It isn’t about attending the club meetings or jumping through hoops for a 4H leader that snubs you on the day of judging. It is about learning and accomplishing something you never thought possible. In the end it is all about having the time of your life and learning bits and pieces along the way. Sure it is awesome to have your hard work awarded. It makes all those practice runs worth it.
Over dinner tonight my son and I made a toast to my daughter…to her success. Through laughs and giggles we pronounced her the “master chef” of the family. Sure it really made me mad that the leader would snub my kid. Sure I am proud as punch at her success, but in the end I am happier because through it all she had the time of her life. She gained confidence in her abilities and discovered that other people recognized her skills and accomplishment as well. Sure it’s great to have your mommy, daddy, and brother think you hung the moon and gobble up all your tasty samples but even better when a perfect stranger applauds your contribution. She found something she loved doing. If so, all that worry, shitting bricks, hot kitchens, and the burn on her arm was so worth it!
It is Tuesday again and time for Tuesday Tunes, and also day 9 of the and Ultimate Blogging Challenge and Nablopomo. My selection for today is "Good Riddence (Had the Time of Your Life) performed by Green Day and here is why. I was up at the butt crack of dawn this morning rushing my daughter to the fairgrounds for judging. She is in 4H. This year she decided to try her hand at the “Foods” project which required her to bake pretzels and also freeze a vegetable. Having never participated in this project myself, I didn’t know what to expect. We were both shitting bricks going in. She had baked her sweet braided pretzels last night and froze a blend of a cauliflower and broccoli following the divine wisdom of Betty Crocker and her 4H manual. God only knows that I had no experience in preserving foods. My idea of getting around frozen food is hitting the local grocery store’s freezer section.
Over dinner tonight my son and I made a toast to my daughter…to her success. Through laughs and giggles we pronounced her the “master chef” of the family. Sure it really made me mad that the leader would snub my kid. Sure I am proud as punch at her success, but in the end I am happier because through it all she had the time of her life. She gained confidence in her abilities and discovered that other people recognized her skills and accomplishment as well. Sure it’s great to have your mommy, daddy, and brother think you hung the moon and gobble up all your tasty samples but even better when a perfect stranger applauds your contribution. She found something she loved doing. If so, all that worry, shitting bricks, hot kitchens, and the burn on her arm was so worth it!
