July 10, 2018
On What Ifs, Toothpicks and Other Life Lessons
This weekend I traveled back memory lane. Since it is July, my mind drifted back to my 4-H days and memories of the fair. I believe it is probably something all 4-H alumni do as fair season quickly comes upon us.
My thoughts were on lessons learned. 4-H offers many learning opportunities for youth. These are often delivered by adults: Extension professionals, club leaders, project volunteers, judges, neighbors, and/or parents. I thought about lessons taught by my dad as he coached me through my projects. I probably did not recognize the significance of these learning moments back then. After all, I had too many projects to submit in too few days. Dad’s lessons were taught in just a few moments, but it has taken a lifetime to truly understand the depth, gravity and significance of every one.
“There isn’t enough stain, varnish or paint in the world that will hide a bad job of sanding” he would often say as I sanded away on a woodworking project. He would have me work until the wood was smooth and flawless. Then I could stain, paint or varnish. The lesson is clear. At least, it is today. If something is flawed at its core, there is nothing you can do at the surface to make it right. It is critical to work hard to make the core, the foundation, great before adding the shine, glitter and gloss.
He was also encouraging me to say “What if…” and find ways to take things to the next level. The faces of the little pilots and ground crew on a model airplane always bothered me. Most would dab a little paint on the face with a brush and call it good. It never looked right to me. They needed eyes. Try painting eyes on a one inch figurine with a brush! Dad asked me “What if you took a toothpick, dabbed a little paint on it, and drew the eyes on that way?” The effort was initially rewarded when one of my fellow model project participants asked “How did you paint the eyes on them?” The real reward of this lesson was realized later. Dad taught me to not be scared to ask “what if,” to experiment, and to always try to take things to a new level.
I want to wish all of our 4-H members wonderful learning opportunities like these and others this fair season. While they may not recognize them immediately, they will reap their rewards throughout their life. To all of our volunteers, judges, Extension professionals and parents that help make those learning opportunities happen – I sincerely thank you. Have a wonderfully educational fair!