The Me I Wish I Was: This is What I Live For

Several months ago, thinking of this really freaked me out. Still does actually. I wasn't sure I could handle it. The responsibility. The extra work. The physical part. The mental component. But so far so good. In fact, on the days where, before I would have wished for just such a thing but didn't have it, I find myself in my own personal heaven. One of the things that keeps me grounded is that my body is still aching, not to mention that I never know where I'll end up.

I speak, of course, of Lee. Next best thing to my hubby and children. Sorry to anyone else that might be reading (which means you, because my hubby and children don't read my blog). But that is the way it is. I was a horse crazy child with a horse crazy mother (emphasis on the crazy part) and I spent every waking moment not at school or playing basketball dealing with the silly creatures. At the barn, reading magazines, planning my next horse show, wishing we had just a little more.... As I've spent so much time away from them since getting married and having children, I realize that horses give me something I don't find anywhere else. Confidence. Freedom. Snot on my neck (although Hope tries hard to fill that role). I have some kind of natural ability. I'm not the best mind you, but I'm good enough that rank horses and untrained horses barely make me blink. In fact I like those kinds. Anyway, when my body isn't screaming at me "hey, you, remember us? You haven't used us in ten years!! Hellllooooo????" I'm more comfortable in the saddle than on the ground. And the freedom....ooooo, that just makes me smile a cheesy sappy grin. So there is a ditch there, so what? Ewwww, shin deep mud, oh well. Spider webs in my face while on the back of a horse don't bother me much but can't get the things off me fast enough at home. And my favorite is the speed. Fast enough to blow my hair back without wind burn and not getting winded myself. Anyway, my favorite activity with horses is hands down trail riding, or pasture riding, whichever.

Monday, Lee and I took our first meander down the trail. Mind you we only went about 200 yards because I needed to get back to pick up the kids after riding in the arena for a while. The only thing that would have made it more fun would have been for Lee to have about 100 more rides on him. I'm not sure he has ever been ridden down a trail or even much outside his own pasture or arena. He was shying away from stumps, ant hills, and farm implements. Good thing he is too lazy to do much more than step away cause I was tired from arena work. He also didn't understand trail work to mean "follow the path." He kept wandering toward the trees (maybe trying to scrape me off...). However he didn't mind the said ditch or mud.

This was the gelding that followed us for awhile. Even trotted to catch up when he fell behind. (There is a fence between us)

And these were the views.

So pretty.

And this scene made me smile:

You think, awwww, friends enjoying a piece of shade....

Yeah, not so much.

All I know is that I may could do without the sore muscles (hopefully only temporary as I get back in shape), the mental stress, and the responsibility, but I just love to ride. It is who I am. Apparently I've spent the last 10 years in denial.....