How I have spent 22 Mother's Days
The Dixon May Fair is the longest-running fair in California. It is always Mother's Day weekend. My oldest son started showing dairy cattle in 1988 and I've had kids at the fair ever since. The kids can show as FFA members for one year after they finish high school so this was my youngest son's last show. He was at the fair from Tuesday through Sunday and left Sunday night for his job on a hotshot crew north of Redding.
Chris has shown dairy goats each year since he started in 4-H. He sold some of his goats last summer when he left for the fire-fighting job, but had two two-year old milkers at the fair this year. Chris is showing Devan and a friend showed Denise.
This was a very small show, but Devan won Champion...
...and Best Doe in Show. Chris showed her dam at the CA State Fair two years ago and won Champion Toggenburg.
On Sunday Chris competed in Supreme Showmanship, in which the showmanship winners of each species compete.
Each participant shows sheep,
beef cattle, dairy cattle, meat goats, dairy goats, and swine. Chris won second place in this event. And then it was over. Chris rushed home to leave for the job. I went back to the fair to get the goats when they were released. That's it! Not as big an adjustment as last year when Chris left home for the job for the first time, but now my years of 4-H & FFA Mom is over.
But I'm still a mom. Here is the Mother's Day present that Chris gave me!!!!