Try being a 4-H mom, Mr. Bush

They say that being the president of the United States is the most stressful job in the world.

Well, nothing against Mr. Bush, but managing the world's largest superpower is nothing compared to the stress of a 4-H mother the week before the fair.

How do I know? Don't ask.

It was about 10 days or so ago when I turned the calendar from June to July that I suddenly realized the county fair was but a mere 19 days away. No, the dates had not changed, it was just that it dawned on me that we were getting dangerously close to the fair and not one project was actually finished.

Now that's stress, I thought. Until I called my friend. Her husband is still cutting wheat. She's taking meals to the field. They are remodeling their new home which is waiting on the normal delays of countertops to be delivered and carpet to be laid. And they have to be moved out of their current home the week following the fair. Not to mention, the oldest son is scheduled for a tonsillectomy four days before the fair. All this, and getting ready for the fair too? She's superwoman, I thought.

Yes, I realize it is the children that do the 4-H projects. But it's the moms that do the things that make the projects work. They go to three stores to find one without a broken photo enlargement machine. They make a quick run to the western store when they realize their child has grown 2 inches in two months and the Wranglers no longer fit. They spend many hours and many miles hunting rocks. They check and double-check entry cards to make sure everything is correct.

I only have one child of 4-H age. How do those moms of many 4-Hers do it? All of them, every last 4-H mom out there is superwoman.

So, to all of you former 4-Hers out there. Put down the paper. Pick up the phone. Call your mother. Say thanks for juggling a million things so that you could have the opportunity to grow and learn through 4-H. She did it for you.

And I would just bet she'll say, "All the stress was worth it."

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.

7/16/07

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