On a Friday afternoon at the state fair, I typed up show results and posted photos of a show that was happening in front of me at the Farmer’s Coliseum in downtown Indianapolis. Four rings of cattle were on exhibition while clerks, queens and announcers kept the pace of the show moving forward for spectators enjoying a vanilla shake and a hot grilled cheese.

On one side of me was a young woman who had just moved back from Iowa and was telling me about her entrepreneurial idea of opening a western wear boutique, behind me sat a former state officer for Indiana FFA and who was headed to Purdue to major in ag communications with a desire to get into ag broadcasting. And on my left-hand side was my youngest son who was just along for the fun and giggles. He was flanked by the Indiana Holstein Queen who hailed from Turtle Town, USA, otherwise known as Churubusco, Ind. Don’t think there weren’t some great stories about turtle races throughout the day.

On that same Friday afternoon, 476 miles west, my daughter was sitting ringside covering the Iowa State Fair Holstein show. The girl who went off to college and said she would never work in the ag industry was taking photos of cows and posting show results while visiting with acquaintances turned life-long friends because she’s been going to this state fair with me for nearly 10 years.

When these two kids were 6 and 8, they would tag along with me to cover events at local county fairs. Whether it was a livestock auction or a show, they were always in search of the cheapest corndog on the grounds and then hit the local dairy producers ice cream stand. We couldn’t leave the fair without going through the commercial building to pick up all the free pens, candy, chip clips and yard sticks.

Now in their 20s, they both have a career, live on their own and are enjoying the life God has put before them. Never in my wildest dreams did I think 20 years later, we would still be going to the fair, enjoying grilled cheese and vanilla shakes, sitting ringside at a show. But here we are, two of us in Indy and the other in Des Moines and I wouldn’t have it any other way.