I'm a ffa mom.

it's so weird to say that, but I'm proud that I am that.

I've spent my whole life living in suburbia.

concrete grids with cute shoes to walk them have always typically been my choice of road save for a few planned adventures that involve the outdoors.

but maddie. :)

my maddie saw a different road these past few years and I've so enjoyed watching her walk it.

my girl craves the country.

she craves the simpler life that happens once you get out past the concrete grids.

she enjoys the simpler pace of life that slows down and enjoys the gritty hard work that comes with it.

she craves grass under her feet, dirt under boots and callous' on her hands from gripping leather halters + wooden handle shovels.

she enjoys working hard, sweating hard, and wiping dust from her forehead in her work jeans + justin boots.

she craves competitiveness and drive that comes from working a farm animal that doesn't quite know yet that she's going to make it submit to her will...and her will is strong indeed. that's about the only thing I recognize in her from me on this most different country road she's walking on. ;)

and I'm so proud of my girl.

this week was county fair.

now for most that I saw this weekend, county fair meant cotton candy/tank tops + glitter/salt + pepper shaker rides/and wide-eyed kids who have never seen a goat up close before. ("can I pet yer' cow?" um, yes but it's a goat ma'am...I still can't stop laughing.) but for my madds + some of these ffa kids, it means up at 5a.m. and home by 7p.m. after spending all day grooming/working/shoveling/cleaning/showing your animal that you've spent the last year caring for + raising.

it's hard work.

but she/they do this because they're ffa kids.

and most of these ffa kids have character...a seemingly lost virtue to most of their generation.

character that does hard work, and takes pride in doing hard work without a pay check or a pat on the back.

character that takes naps with your animal in the down time in the shavings in the heart of state fair with oblivious onlookers passing by because you know it's going to be the last few moments of quiet you have with your animal.

character that shows patience at the cow questions when you're standing next to your goat and character that patiently educates with a smile and a yes ma'am/sir.

I can understand why my madds loves it.

it's salt of the earth stuff.

it's working with your hands that you worked for stuff.

and she definitely worked for it this week.

she earned character and so much more of my admiration this week in spite of many obstacles...

in spite of random judging that just didn't consistently add up and had the potential to frustrate + cause you to want to quit...

in spite of auctions that just don't have a rhyme or reason to making any sort of sense...

in spite of having a city mom who doesn't live on a farm or have an in with the in-bred farm families (weird that it's a thing, but it so is)...

in spite of a thief stealing her entire make-up bag (most given as gifts including the makeup bag) the day she showed at showmanship...

in spite of goat infections + weird fungus' that are just straight up gross for a sixteen-year-old to have to deal with...

in spite of ALL of this + more, my girl showed such depth of character and I could not be more proud of who she is as a daughter but also proud of who she is as a hard-working woman and as a friend I greatly admire.

she showed character that smiled through sixteen-year-old tears as she recognized legacy over emotional out-of-control feelings and worked hard to control them.

she showed character that cleaned and encouraged tired friends around her to clean even though it wasn't theirs to clean.

she showed character as she looked to encourage the younger first year girl next to her who was overwhelmed with emotion and gave her hope and a smile and empathy even in spite of her own sad emotions...

she showed character that loaded + drove (over 1000 miles this week alone) + shoveled + cleaned + competed and and and...and.