The arena was full of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children enjoying a refreshing day at the Elkhart County Fair. We were there to cover it for Dairy Agenda Today and as I looked around, I once again was transported back to my childhood when it was standing room-only on show day.

I sat at the table to work and listened to the conversations behind me of men catching up with each other, laughing, joking, and just enjoying a break from the pressures of the day. It was fun to be back in Goshen, Ind., where my husband and I spent our first few years of married life and where we had our first two boys.

We loved Indiana. It was a storybook life there; we were surrounded by picture-perfect farms and lovely people. Goshen is also the place where Bobby and I made two vows: we promised each other that we would never live in Michigan again, and that we would never milk cows.

It didn’t take long to learn that I should never say never.

Throughout the day we visited with a lot of folks, but it was when I turned and saw the one person who was responsible for our move to Indiana that made the day complete. Doc Snider and his wife, Shari, had a herd of cows in Goshen, where he also had a veterinary practice.

Bobby went to work at Doc’s and we made the move to a little home in a wide spot in the road named Southwest. Because the house wasn’t quite ready yet when we were ready to move, we lived for a few weeks in the basement apartment in Doc’s house.

Doc and Shari were good to us. They made sure we had everything we needed and, for that brief few years in Indiana, it was a great experience.

Doc invited us out to his house for a visit after the show, and while I really needed to go home and do laundry, write, clean, and pack before we headed out on another adventure, we drove out to Doc and Shari’s home in the woods. We reminisced about life, people, and the dairy business, and I sat back and listened to three passionate people talk about the one thing in life that makes them tick: Cows.

As we got in the car to go home, I had all the “warm fuzzies.” I had a million valid reasons why I needed to go straight home that night, but I was so glad I tossed it all aside for an evening with old friends.

Don’t take time for granted; it’s here today and gone tomorrow.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.