Ambassadors of Time - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

Most of you who read this column will know that I’ve been reflecting on the passage of time a lot recently. There are a few reasons for that. October of 2026 will mark my 20th anniversary of beginning work with The Citizen (and moving to Huron County) and my marriage and two children, born in 2020 and 2023. Nothing will put you in tune with the passage of time more than having children, as you watch them grow and learn and become their own people.

 

This was on my mind last week as I attended the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador competition at the Legion. This specific event, as well as its companion, the Brussels Fall Fair itself, has been something that I’ve covered, in one way or another, ever since I started my time here at The Citizen. Over that time, I have known and befriended a number of Ambassadors and members of the Brussels Agricultural Society. I even served as a judge for the competition one year and been the guest speaker for its annual general meeting (must have been a slow year). Inevitably, over that time, people have aged, they’ve passed away and new people have taken their place, in some cases, they’ve been their children and grandchildren.

 

However, now as the father of two young children, the thing that really caught up with me the other night is the Ambassadors themselves. I remember many of their young, smiling faces as they had the tiara put on their head or the sash put over their shoulder and now many of these people are fully-functional adults. They have important jobs, husbands or wives and, more to the point, children of their own. That can make a man feel old in a hurry.

 

So, watching the young Ambassadors for this year take on their new roles, I remember some of them from years ago. Also, as I look on the organizational side - at former Ambassadors who are now helping to administer the program to the next generation - I see Ambassadors I remember as timid teens ready to cut the ribbon at the Brussels Fall Fair with new last names. They’re married, they have children and they are pillars of the community, eager to give back to the village and the organization that gave so much to them.

 

Then, at both the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador night, then the next day at Junior Day for the Huron County Plowing Match, I had more than one person talk to me about perhaps bringing Tallulah and/or Cooper into the fold. Who knows? Maybe one day they’ll be Ambassadors or Tallulah will be a Princess or Queen of the Furrow (we’ll have to lean on some neighbours for plowing and tractor-driving advice, as they won’t be getting that at home around the breakfast table).

 

When we had our children and in the years since, people have always told us that time goes quickly. The days are long, but the years are fast - so goes the saying. That is true, it seems, as it’s already been more than five years since our first one was born. In many ways it feels like it was just yesterday, while in others it feels like I’ve been a father for an eternity. 

 

The Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador competition was kind enough to supply me with that reality check last week. No doubt the story is the same for so many people who have been involved in that organization for generations, seeing people win the crown, only to see their children and even grandchildren then contest for it decades later.

 

For now, my kids will be the ones waving to Ambassadors at the parades, but maybe one day they’ll be the ones doing the waving.