08/02/2021
Written by Mackinze Cash of Bright Lights Show Cattle
If you give a kid a calf, he will want a halter to go with it.
You'll buy the best halter you can find and then he will probably want a bucket and a show stick and some combs too.
When he realizes he can't carry all these things with his own two hands, he will want a show box. Then he will spend hours begging you to go out in the barn to work with his calf, halter, and show stick.
Even though you just wanna sit on the couch and watch TV. He will insist. And his insistence will win!
When you go out in the barn to wash, comb, blow, and walk. He will not want to go back in the house for dinner and will swear that even at dusk there is enough light to continue working his calf!
Next the barn will not be enough and he will want to go the show to see how he can compete while wearing his new show shirt and starched jeans! Once he gets to the show he will get dirty setting up and will be happy! He will probably smile and laugh!
Once he is all dirty and enjoys the way the work feels he will want to learn how to fit in the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter! When he goes to shows then he wants friends to sit at the stalls with.
When a boy gets a new show shirt, he will want jeans and boots and a belt and a hat to go with it! And a TEAM!!!
Then life as you know it will end! There will be no more lazy weekends. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible! Every spare minute of your time will be spent hauling buckets, calves, equipment, and crazy kids all over the place to cattle shows!
You will get excited about all the cute shirts and hats that say Stock Show U!!! Your yard will be overlooked! Your house and car will be a mess all because you gave a kid a calf! Your weekends will be spent grueling it out in a fold up chair!
His weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, learning new skills, and having fun getting dirty. So dirty you will learn a whole new way to do laundry! Like going to the car wash!
His smile will grow bigger and bigger! And each year that he works his calves, he will get better and better. And his love for the cattle, and confidence in himself will grow right along with his Cinch shirt size!
Then he might try to be a FITTER, a SHOWMAN, a HERDSMAN, or a BREEDER. Because cattle taught him he can be anything he wants! And you will be there the day he wins his first Grand Champion and wins his showmanship class! And he will make you proud! So proud you will get him a hug and the Shorthorn Lassie gives him a banner!
And right before your eyes, your little kid will be transformed into a cattleman who set aside his toy barn one day long ago simply because you gave him a calf and a bucket, show stick, show box, and a starched western shirt to go with it!
When you give a kid a calf you gave him a talent, and hope, a passion, a dream, and friends and a new family. A place to learn about life, room to grow up as a person where he can push the limit, and have bravery, courage, and learn about LIFE and memories. And he will have all these things simply because you gave a kid a calf and a halter!
Then one day many years from now.... he will be in his pasture and that old cow will walk up to him. He will rub her head and realize instantly that when you gave that kid a calf you also gave him a childhood that he would never forget! And he will hug you, and your eyes may leak! Because then you will realize that everything you gave up along the way was worth it all BECAUSE YOU GAVE A KID A CALF!
