A barn-girl celebrates her birthday!
children
this moment
{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment. Originally inspired by “Soulemama“
this moment
{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment. Originally inspired by “Soulemama“
How to Love Horses Forever.
We were born this way. It should be part of the Apgar test. It would resolve so much if newborns gave an early warning–just like any other heart condition.
Most of us didn’t live around horses in the beginning. We saw them in our first books or from car windows. Or maybe it was cellular memory and we thought we just knew them because it felt like we always had. In the beginning, there was simply nothing easier than loving horses.
We got this far just daydreaming; we were horse-crazy kids cantering around the yard playing horse. Kids who nickered and pranced; loving to feel the wind in our hair and the rhythm of our tennis-shoe-hooves on ground. Maybe a dream horse taught us.
Then we got our first touch; our first shared breath. Maybe we squealed like a siren and flapped our arms to let them know we…
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this moment
Originally inspired by “Soulemama“: {this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a simple, special, extraordinary moment.
Courage doesn’t always roar
“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher
final post
Final post of 3 in the saga: History made. The end of May will be the one year anniversary of “Romance” joining our family. My daughter’s “dream horse”. Who gave her a run for her money. My little girl so desperately wanted one thing. To go out on the trail with her. Out of the arena, off the property. Out into the endless miles of open ranch land and mountains. Needless to say, it was slow in coming. Both girl and horse are timid, yet stubborn personalities. I admit, there were times that I thought this was just the wrong horse for her. We had those hard conversations about maybe finding something else for her. Well…
I underestimated both…girl and horse. And I am reminded of what a horse can do for our soul, our character, our inner strength.
Every therapeutic riding session I have ever instructed pales in comparison to what this baby girl has accomplished of her own free-will, desire, drive and commitment.
My friends, …”well-behaved women seldom make history”…and these two commited souls have gone down in my history book as heroes. It may be small in the scheme of the horrors, challenges and hardships of the world, but it is huge in the heart of a small girl who now, I believe, can do and will do amazing things in this world. More importantly, she believes.
Thank you for reading through this little series of posts. I felt like both, she and I, needed it. And it offers a little celebration of sorts into the BIGGER WORLD out there.
part 2 of that history making
I have chronicled a little bit here about my little girl’s struggles and fears with her horse, Romance.
She loves this horse with ALL of her heart and soul.
And she is timid and harbors some fear from a scary experience from a horse she rode prior to getting her own baby, Romance.
Romance is stubborn, challenging, diva-ish ….and yet still-I have reluctantly discovered- the perfect horse for my timid and sweet little girl.
We all have fears to work through. If we want it bad enough, we do it.
If we don’t want it, that’s okay. No one is forcing us to do things we don’t want to do.
I will never push her. But I will support her. I have always told her that she never has to do anything she truly doesn’t want to. BUT if she wants something, then she can’t let fear stop her. There’s a fine line there, isn’t there? Even for us adults. I know.
I’ll tell ya. This little cowgirl wanted it. She has worked her cute little heart out. For horsey readers–she has round-penned, joined up, spent hours in her stall, trained, rode, loved, cried… For mommy, daddy, and otherwise readers–she has persevered in ways that many much older than her could never. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was always beautiful. As mom, I tried to guide, make sure she was safe and then –step back. Again, balancing the fine line. My little, timid, sweet girl was not always well-behaved in those moments with her horse. In the sense, that this cowgirl knew what she wanted and was going for it even with trepidation, nerves, fear, tears and telling mom to back off (in much sweeter words, I assure you, but same meaning). I discovered that she is strong in who she is. Big difference between being timid and soft-spoken and being strong and confident. What’s that saying…”never mistake kindness for weakness”…
*final post on this back story to come 🙂
making history
“Well behaved women seldom make history”
“Some history-making is intentional; much of it is accidental. People make history when they scale a mountain, ignite a bomb, or refuse to move to the back of the bus. But they also make history by keeping diaries, writing letters, or embroidering initials on linen sheets. History is a conversation and sometimes a shouting match between present and past, though often the voices we most want to hear are barely audible. People make history by passing on gossip, saving old records, and by naming rivers, mountains, and children. Some people leave only their bones, though bones too make a history when someone notices.”
― Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
*more to come on the back story of this post 🙂
this moment
Joining Amanda Soule at “Soulemama” in the tradition of:
{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
barnraised 