4-H According to Mary

4-H is a program in which young people and adults alike learn a variety of life lessons. Over the years as a 4-Her, a 4-H leader, a 4-H parent, and a 4-H Agent, I have discovered a multitude of lessons. Some have been comical, some heart-wrenching, some heart-warming, but all have had a part in making me who I am.

Throughout the 2009-10 year in 4-H, I plan to share several of the stories that have a lesson (or moral, as you will). As members, leaders, and parents, you may not agree with my evaluations of each event, but they all help me put 4-H in perspective. So here goes with the first installation of “4-H According to Mary.”

With county fair just finished, the following story seems fitting. This one is from the “parent” standpoint.

It was 1993 and my eight year old daughter had prepared for her first county fair in Kansas. She had worked so hard in perfecting the skill of making a quick bread that everyone in the neighborhood had fresh baked lemon nut bread over the course of the summer. Of course she had saved the best looking loaf to enter in local county fair. Even though I was her mother, as a foods judge I can tell you that the bread looked nearly perfect – EXCEPT to the judge.

Now I don’t know from whence they uncovered this judge, but my bet is that she was a last minute fill-in who had never judged foods before – at least not quick breads! I heard the entire interview as I stood about six feet in back of my daughter. When the judge said, “Honey, this quick bread is wonderful, but it shouldn’t have this crack down the middle of the top crust,” I think I almost sucked all the air out of that building. (For those of you that don’t know the characteristics of a good quick bread, it should have a crack down the middle.)

When that kid, who had worked so hard and learned so much, came back to me with tears in her eyes and asked, “Mom, isn’t my bread supposed to look like that,” I said, “Yes.” It was difficult to explain to an eight year old that just because you do a good job, you don’t always get credit for your skills. But in this case, I explained, everything was not lost because she did learn a lot in the project and, ultimately, she knew more about quick breads than the adult judge!

Yes, that white ribbon was not a prized piece of memorabilia in the Baldwin household, but my child took more away from the experience than a tangible decoration that has long ago been discarded.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Ribbons lose their luster, but knowledge can never be lost.