Our first year for 4-H fun

This is my daughter's 4-H project, one of them anyway. The dog's name is Maggie. Before she was a 4-H project, she was our pet golden retriever. Her routine used to be that she'd wake up, go outside and pee, come in, eat breakfast, sleep, walk, sleep some more, go outside and pee a couple of more times and eat again. Now, since she's been deemed an official 4-H project, she has an extra bit of obedience training scheduled into her busy dog life. I'm not sure what she's making of all of the hoopla. She doesn't say much.

My daughter, however, couldn't be more excited about it. After her first obedience class on Monday night, we rushed out to get Maggie properly equipped with a choke chain, a leather leash and treats. My daughter got a little hip pouch in which to carry the treats and she's been diligently working with Maggie ever since. She also takes care of Maggie; feeding her and brushing her daily. 

Actually, having this to focus on this summer has been a blast. I've been to the Lenawee County Fair nine times as a reporter. That's nine times more than any other time in my life. We never did participate in 4-H when I was a kid. We were city folk...well suburban folk. Yes, our little cement enclave was surrounded by farmland, but agriculture still seemed so removed from anything I knew. Sad, I know. The closest thing to experiencing an agrarian lifestyle was our annual summer berry picking rendezvous. 

I'd always secretly hoped my kids would get involved in 4-H. When my daughter showed an interest in joining the Britton-Macon 4-H Club this fall, I readily agreed. We won't be doing any livestock exhibits anytime soon. I still live in the suburbs, but my life is very much immersed in small town rural life because of where I work and where my kids go to school. So, we'll settle for the static exhibits and, of course, teaching the dog to be obedient, which isn't a stretch since she's really a very obedient dog already thanks to the Monks of New Skete, but that's another story.

For now, we are winding down to our first Lenawee County Fair as a 4-H family. There is still much work to be done with more dog training sessions and finishing touches that need to be put on my son's photography project, but perhaps the rewards are already being seen. Just a couple of days ago my daughter said these very words, "Mom, it's okay if I don't win, because I'm having fun."