Fair Stories...This is mine, what's yours?

Dominic ready to ride his sheep!

Having a fairgrounds packs with animals implies one thing : Flies! Abby, was gracious enough to kill some of those in the office, even if they were sitting on my arm at the time.

I made it! We made it!

We did it, the fair has come and the fair gone. Sitting here on my bed now it feels as if we all stood through a hurricane and are left with the aftermath. The grounds are still covered with remnants but we are left with what is a virtual ghost town, a shadow of what was a bustling festival at this time last week. The office is crammed with leftovers, lost and found, supplies, banners, paperwork and four women tired and busy with wrap up. There are so many things that I love about the fair, among them are:
....the people that come to the fair. They are excited to be there having looked forward to it all year. People that come to the fair are not middle of the road, they are so glad that it's finally fair time again.
....the animals. It took me awhile to finally catch on to the fact that the huge sale that they were doing on Friday ended with all of the animals being sold, not being sold as a pet to another loving home, but that many of them would be bacon before next week. How had I missed this reality? Denial is a powerful defense.
....the mutton bustin. Dominic rode again this year. There is really nothing funnier to me than strapping a small child on to an angry sheep and seeing how things work out. What is up with that? Who came up with this game? Thankfully Dom is a good sport and finds it fun.
....but most of all the thing that I love the most about the fair is the people that I get to work with. There are so many things that are thrown at us during the week that I cannot imagine not having support from the people that I work with. These girls are some of my best friends. To go through a fair together is to understand the good and the bad of each person you're surrounded by. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. We know what makes each other smile and what makes each other bitchy. Thank you girls for making me laugh throughout the week! So many memories were made in the past week.
When I think of the memories that I made in the last week, I like to think about the memories that others made because we put on our fair. What does it mean to have a week of community coming together to share what they are proud of, what they are passionate about, what drives them. We have artists, cowboys, farmers, cooks, bakers, vitners, all coming together to show to others what they are most proud of, to share with others what it is that drives them. I saw a 99 year old gentleman run in a three mile run, running as part of his community. I watched as one of my employees showed her reserved grand champion hog as the two of them won fitting and showing. I saw a young boy donate his sheep to TETWP and raise $12,000 for women in OUR community with breast cancer. I also got to remember the place that started mine and Andrew's story. Every year it's fun to think about the week that I met Andrew and the week that I was given the man I would marry. I wonder how many other stories come from the week of the fair, how many stories begin, end or are made more full because of our humble fair.