Blast from the Past

Today Mira came home with two free things from school. They were handing them out and so she took an extra. Wasn't much but got my wheels turning. And then I told the kids a story from eons a long time ago. You see where I grew up the winters were long. And every winter there was the Codington County Winter Farm Show(!!!) just across the street. It was a dream come true for a prairie rabble-rouser like me. I couldn't wait to get home from school, gulp down some tasty something my mom had waiting and head over to the farm show. You see admittance was FREE! And then you could walk around and look at these boring booths of things they were trying to sell. Farm equipment. Honey. Books. Stale popcorn. Bad hot dogs. And insurance. And you see a lot of these little tables with fancy curtains hiding their lunch or extra goodies had FREE stuff on the tables. Well I was a precocious little 10-year old and this was a dream come true. I would only slow down my fast pace if I scoped out a free item lying on the table. It was your typical fare... notepads, magnets, pencils, and if you were really lucky, yardsticks from DeSmet Farm Mutual Insurance in florescent colors! I got one earlier in the week and the guy remembered me the next day (rats). So I didn't get another. I think maybe a bit of his grown-up thinking was watching me whack at a friend or better still! My mean older brother. One guy in a moment of weakness just told me to take how many pencils I wanted. I could hardly believe it! Was this guy for real? So I took one and then two and then three... then started to name off real and imaginary friends and got about 10 before I left his table. He winked at me as I left...full plastic bag in tow. If my memory serves me right, he mentioned this to my mom when she went by his table the next day (small town you know). And where was I off to? The BARN!

You see the barn was just heaven on earth to me. I would have made a good farmer's wife. But I'm not. The chosen one for me is from the city and I am content. But the smell of the damp cows and sheep, the straw, the hay.... ahhhh. I loved it in there. I learned about black angus, polled herefords, and sheep. Made a friend one year with a girl from a "small" town (even smaller than the one I grew up in ). She had a cow ready to calf. And told me to come the next day to watch. Well that's quite a thing when you're 10 to watch a calf be born. I think I missed supper that night in order to see it all. And it was worth it. I couldn't believe the slime, the effort the cow put forth, the nerves of the farmers. And the next day I ran back to see a fluffy and adorable calf. Happy Sigh.

And so what's the conclusion? I loved the freedom I had to choose to be where I wanted even at a very young age. Those were very safe times. My parents had an innate trust in knowing where I'd be. And they allowed me to learn, explore, interact with others that could teach me far more than any book could do. Yep. Those were the good old days.