From The Fair
Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 3:52PM It is hot. Not horribly hot, we've had worse, but yes - hot.
It is dusty. Because arenas are full of dirt and horses stir up the dirt and the fans blow it everywhere. I try very hard not to think about the quality of the dirt, by which I mean how much manure is mixed in there. Especially when I'm taking a drink from my water bottle that's been sitting around.
There are flies. Guess what flies like?
- sugar
- sweaty bodies
- poop
I think that when good flies die they end up at County Fair.
But there are also kids everywhere bathing and grooming all manners of creatures and proudly showing them off to the public in hopes of being rewarded with a purple ribbon. It is heartwarming, and cute, and educational.
And a tad smelly.
Reagan and Jamboree are not having their best fair experience. Jamby is a pretty horse and Reagan is a good rider but competition doesn't seem to be their thing so much. Frankly, watching the competition does not seem to be my thing so much.
It's one thing to watch your kid's team lose a game. That is sad, but being part of a group make the loss a little less personal. It's another to watch her and the animal she loves go into head to head competition in an arena and watch them walk out dejected and humiliated.
It makes me crabby. I am not built for it. Putting on a happy face and offering an encouraging word does not come naturally in this circumstance. I do my best because that's the adult thing to do but I feel like I'm acting.
Because what I really want to do?
Is get nasty. I want to rail about the unfairness of horse competitions. I want to launch a diatribe against a system where monied people can buy high dollar horses that someone else trained for their kids to ride into arenas and collect ribbons with. I want to talk about unfair judging and the poor planners at the event center who put circus tents which spook horses right outside of arenas where they compete.
I want to assign blame.
It turns out that I am a very poor sport.
Being a poor sport is lousy parenting. So what we will do instead is talk about we could have an improved outcome next time. Perhaps Ms. Social could spend a bit less time with friends and texting and a lot more time practicing. Maybe there are different techniques or theories or . . . you get the idea.
It's one of those area of parenting that I really don't have the heart for. I don't enjoy competition myself. It's only fun when you win. The rest is a lot of hard work for a lot of heart break. Why can't we just do what we enjoy because we enjoy it? Or, if we don't enjoy it, stop doing it?
I think I'm understanding why I don't exercise.
I'm sorry, I really intended to give you a Fair update here. I did not mean to get all Sports Psychologist on you. Quite possibly I need a nap.
There are not many situations in life that can not be improved by taking a nap.
Reader Comments (13)
Sounds like it wasn't a good day at the county fair. It is terribly unfair when kids, only because of their parent's money, do well. This surfaces in everything. I have witnessed it in the sports "arena" also.
Shouldn't hard work be enough? No somehow, money plays it's part too.
I agree 100% with your nap philosophy. I hope you managed one today...sorry for all the disappointment with the event.
I KNOW! I'm not competitive either and I feel the same way. You're so funny when you're grouchy. I'm mean when I'm grouchy. I was right there with you, especially with the spooky circus tent. MEH!
I understand this post completely. And all I've got to say is that I hope tomorrow is way better.
Marla @ www.asthefamrturns.wordpress.com
I completely understand your post. I don't like to compete unless I win. Losing just isn't much fun, especially when the odds of winning are even for everyone. I hope the rest of the fair gets better!
I agree 100 percent on being not being competitive and napping and not exercising (I hid my 30 day shred somewhere, it scared me so much, and now I can't find it. Oh, well). Also, thanks for the sweet comment on the blog today! Really appreciate it!
I feel the same way sometimes toward education… of course, there's only so much you can fix. There's only so much that you can do. Sometimes, it's hard to sit and just go with the flow when you really want to start busting some heads. Kudos to you for being the good parent.
Sorry for Reagan! Hope the next one goes better!
And this line had me dying, "I think that when good flies die they end up at County Fair."
I don't have a child old enough to be competitive yet, but I think when Bean gets that age it will be my husband who struggles between being a bad sport and being a good parent. Makes me wonder what kind of competitor Bean will be one day and what he'll want to be competing in... Perhaps toilet dunking will be a sport by then?
~ Katie
www.marriageconfessions.com
But at least you know it is not right to assign blame.
It is easier when it is a team effort, but there is still lots of balme to go around because obviously it wasn't perfect little Johnny who made a mistake, it was everyone else on the team. MEH, I probably shouldn't go down this road, because I will get high up on my soapbox and everyone will start rolling thier eyes at me.
It is better to sum it up with the following...
Sometimes, parenting just sucks, but at least we can go take a nap!
Thank goodness we're too poor and unorganized to join anything that requires real competition. Go us!! =D
Competition is tough. I hope she is still enjoying herself though.
Tell Reagan this: There is so much more to horses than competing. I know. I don't compete. Oh, I'll go out and do a little fun day here and there just to remind myself why I don't compete! But to walk, trot & canter in a circle amongst my peers and my horses peers... nah, we just don't do that very good. We got places to go and places to see. There is nothing (NOTHING!) like opening up your horse across a field or down a dirt road and feeling the wind in your hair and knowing you had a great (GREAT!) ride. No one needs to tell you or give you a ribbon -- you know because it was just you and the horse and it was fab!
I also know that when you are young that 4H and shows and such are more the things young people do with their horses. She needs to think of it as getting the fundamentals. Life will probably take her away from horses and when she comes back to them (and she will) she will know her stuff and know what she wants to do.
For now, Reagan, enjoy Jamboree & your relationship with her and how she makes you feel the 98% of the time you aren't in competition.