It's a love hate relationship

Today is the first day of the M-P 4-H Show and I'm not there. It has been hard to keep my nose out of the details of the plans for that Show.

I know the crew in M-P have the passion and skills to pull it all together. They understand that the Big picture is to plan a great event for the 4-Hers. I'm praying for all of my M-P peeps and the new Coordinator and her summer assistant: strength, wisdom, peace, and a cool breeze.

Back in May I was at a graduation party and heard the news that they were tearing down the old 4-H Food stand at the fairgrounds.

The old food stand was my least favorite part of the Show. I tried to keep my hateful feelings about that building to myself - but there was one other person who I discussed it with freely. The Fair Board President had the same feelings for that building as I did. We commonly joked about ways that it could mysteriously fall down: big truck backs into it, a small fire, a strong wind.

This building had been on the fairgrounds since the 40s(?) if not longer. Lots of tradition and fun summer memories wrapped up in that building my many people in the county. Neither of us ever wanted to deal with the challenges of getting our boards to agree to take it down.

In a stressful series of events, several years ago, I decided to stop using the building and move the food stand to a different location for the 4-H Show.

Two years later, the fair board finally decided to free up some prime land on the fairgrounds and take down the little cramped building. And I had to see it for myself.

This was taken after the walls had already been taken down....

And the roof....

and the appliances, sink, counters, pie safe, grill, vent....

There are many 4-Hers and volunteers who may understand the love hate relationship I have with this building. Then again, most of them had no idea of what it took to get the food stand ready each year. So maybe there aren't many who know there were parts of it I hated.

I spent two summers working with groups of teens painting the building and the pavillion. It used to be the mint green color. We painted it silver.

Love the teamwork it took to get the job done. Hated the long hot hours painting.

Each summer, I was responsible for coordinating a Food Stand cleaning night. After being "closed" up for  10 months, that building was always disgusting!!! 

I'm going to have to give that part of the food stand a double hate rating. I can't think of one thing to write down for the Love part of it. Sorry.

But I will add many more things to the double love category:

the life skills that the 4-Hers learned while working the food stand

the fact that so many 4-Hers truly love to work in the food stand

the homemade pies that everyone brings to sell in the food stand

the opportunity to serve other while working in the food stand

As you can see, none of those things have anything to do with the actual building. Those wonderful things are still happening in their new location. Yea!!!

So I said goodbye to the old food stand building. I must admit, I was a tiny bit sad to see it go. I had a lot of time and sweat invested in it. But then I remembered, I wasn't investing it in the building, I was investing it in the people.

Goodbye old food stand. May only the happy memories and wonderful life skills remain in all of the hearts of all the 4-Hers who passed thru your narrow aisles and lifted your heavy windows and cleaned your dirty refrigerators.