My LARGEST Investment

[sawboss]

I did not know where to post this to address several current topics, so I decided to combine several:
Frostback- Daughter's sick heifer
Chambero- Kicked to the curb
Sawboss- Unlucky Christmas Eve and many more heart felt situations.
I will not pretend to be a great cattle raiser or expert on any topic dealing with animal husbandry.  But if you read between the lines on many of these posts the sorrows and hardships dealing with cattle directly relate back to our children.  Personally my main goal is to invest my time, love, knowledge and money into producing the best product for the future I can.  I am not talking cattle but rather my children!  I will utilize cattle or any other interest they have in order to bring positive outcomes from their adventures be it winning or losing.  There is not a replacement for quality time spent with my sons and all the showring awards in the world do not outweigh a compliment for their efforts.  To have other adults commend your children for proper manners, respect or gun safety is the greatest reward a parent can have.  I enjoy reading the posts to learn more about cattle and encourage those with and without children to realize our futures stem more from the bloodlines we pass on than the commercial end of cattle.  This is the end of my speech other than to congratulate those that enjoy  kids, cattle, showing and enduring hardships for a greater outcome.  Thanks to all.  Sawboss

 

[cowz]

Very well stated.  Thank you for sharing!  (clapping)

 

[justme]

Well stated!  I get more pleasure on people telling me what a nice young lady my daughter is than a ribbon.  She's the first to pick up her fork and pick a stall for someone that is busy or isn't there, or help out a family by playing with there little one while they are fitting an animal.  I think showing cattle can teach more life lessons for a young one than most other activities.  Sportsmanship, leadership, friendship, and many more will hopefully mold my kids into productive adults.

 

[red]

the greatest joys of my life were traveling to the different Junior National shows w/ our daughter. If I could turn back time, we would have started out doing that earlier. Kids are both a blessing & a sorrow. You just take the good w/ the bad & love them as you can. You make mistakes but hopefully you all can grow from them. Take it as one that has lost their child, enjoy every moment w/ them. You can never go back in time.

Red

 

[Jill]

100% agree, we went from showing with a niece and nephew at the top of the age bracket back down to showing with 6,7 and 8 year olds, it has been very hard for us and we have to bite the tongue sometimes because while we have been out there forever, this is their 1st year in 4-H.
My son has won a lot, he has had the benefit of coming in on the heels of my nephew and so a lot of the ground work was already done for him.  With that being said, when we get ready to go to a cattle show, he isn't going to show, or win or anything else, he is going to see his friends.  
The Jr. showring isn't about prizes or who wins or even about showing when you get right down to it, it is about the life skills you develop, the friends you make along the way, and the incredible memories of time spent with family and friends that I don't think you can get with any other activity out there.

 

[DLD]

(clapping)

 

[Show Dad]

Spot on SB!

In a world that target kids with all kind of temptations, I find the people in and around the show ring and cattle associations to be some of the best to counter them.

 

[kanshow]

Oh yes....  (clapping) (clapping) (clapping) 

 

[AAOK]

Several of these posts reminded me of one of my proudest moments as a parent:

Our family was one of a very few in our area to show at the State level, and the only family to show at the National level. Many years ago at one of your County shows, a disgruntled Dad walked over to me and said, "Why do you even come up here with all those high dollar calves, and those prim and proper kids of yours...just to rub our noses in it?  Why would anyone in their right mind spend this kind of money on cattle and show stuff?" To which I replied, "To begin with, we raised these heifers.  Besides, I'm not spending a dime on cattle stuff.  I'm investing my time and money in the future of those two girls!"  He didn't say another word; just turned around, and walked away.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Several of these posts reminded me of one of my proudest moments as a parent:

Our family was one of a very few in our area to show at the State level, and the only family to show at the National level. Many years ago at one of your County shows, a disgruntled Dad walked over to me and said, "Why do you even come up here with all those high dollar calves, and those prim and proper kids of yours...just to rub our noses in it?  Why would anyone in their right mind spend this kind of money on cattle and show stuff?" To which I replied, "To begin with, we raised these heifers.  Besides, I'm not spending a dime on cattle stuff.  I'm investing my time and money in the future of those two girls!"  He didn't say another word; just turned around, and walked away.

EXCELLENT!

 

[knabe]

what's sad, is that he probably confirmed his position.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

I had a similiar instance at our county fair, but I'm maybe not as "politically correct" as AAOK. I simply looked at him and asked about his 2 harley davidson motor cycles and his ski boat - no response.

 

[doubled]

I agree, its great when you have good kids, we were and are so lucky, both kids are in their 20's and are becoming great young men, and trying to make their way in
the world alone, its hard for a Mom to let go and let them make mistakes, and they do make mistakes, but the world of cattle showing has help to mold my kids into
men that most people would be very proud of.  We are all very lucky to be involved in the world of cattle and the kinship it brings, not many organizations or groups allow
people to be what they are and actually applaud them for it.  Well thats my Mom speech for the day, hehe

 

[kanshow]

The whole system is great ...  The little kids get a good example via the big kids.  We have the good fortune to have several great families in our area.  This summer we had the good fortune to have some great kids that were willing to help out our kids with their - other species! LOL!  These were older kids - just graduated from high school - who didn't HAVE to spend helping our younger kids but they did.  And because these guys were 'cool' and still young enough to be kids , our kids listened to them. 

 

[dutch pride]

The whole system is great ...   The little kids get a good example via the big kids.   We have the good fortune to have several great families in our area.  This summer we had the good fortune to have some great kids that were willing to help out our kids with their - other species! LOL!   These were older kids - just graduated from high school - who didn't HAVE to spend helping our younger kids but they did.   And because these guys were 'cool' and still young enough to be kids , our kids listened to them.   

This just reminded me of how proud I was at our county fair this year. Without any organization or being asked, a group of former 4-H'rs, including a couple of my own kids, took over the moving of the hogs from the barn to the sale area and back and I don't think it ever ran smoother and they had a blast doing it. Some of them are too old to show and some just don't have the time to commit to a project but still love to be at the fair.

DLZ

 

[shortyjock89]

I don't know if this fits here, but here goes...

I think that the proudest days that my dad has are show days. Not necessarily because of how we do in the ring, but because of what we do before lead the calf in the show ring.  I'm 18, and my sister is 15, and we've been getting our own calves ready by ourselves for about three years now. I know, not a big deal, but when we started working on my sister's heifer at the 07 IL Beef Expo, and we started with a shaggy, rough clipped heifer, with no one watching; to having the best looking heifer we've ever had at that point, and with each of us with a set of clippers in our hands and working like a couple of ol buddies that had been doing it for years, the people that were walking by just kinda stopped. My sister and I were oblivious to it..we looked up at one point and saw about twenty people watching...we thought we must have messed up really badly!! I guess alot of those people asked my dad if he was going to get in there and show us how to make the heifer look better, and he said "It's their calf, they know it better than anyone else, and besides, they became alot better at clipping than me a long time ago." I don't know that we are better than him, but he wants us to do all the work, and we love doing it. He says that he is really proud of us on those big days, especially when we work together, bringing in the good placing is fun, but just an extra, according to him.

My dad is really cool about us showing so much, and he supports us and helps us in any way he can, and this includes him getting us buckets of water, leading the calves to the show ring while I fit the next one, and being there when we don't do as well as we thought we should. I can hardly wait until I have children that find something that they are passionate about, whether it be cattle, or sports, or studies, or any other thing.  I'm proud of my sister and I, but not anything like my dad says that he feels about us.

 

[JbarL]

your right on the mark sawboss......good luck to you/your family/and your herd....jbarl

 

[red]

I'm sorry for any confusion on my post. Our daughter is alive. she has just chosen a life of drugs & alcohol over us. I'm sorry if I worded it improperly. I guess to me she is lost since I don't even know where she is anymore. Once again I aplogize for the confusion. I also pray for those parents that have truely lost their child to the angels or are going through what we are.

Red :'( :'( :'(

 

[sawboss]

Thanks to all for the support, related posts and personal messages it is easy to forget sometimes what we truly are trying to accomplish.