Doug's Lucky
I mean- duh. He's lucky. But this is something he doesn't even know he's lucky about.
Let me back up. The first weekend I met Doug's parents, they were working on building a barn for my sister in law's horse. The horse wasn't there yet (she wasn't my sister in law yet). But Doug was pretty open about his feelings on, "My kids won't ever do horses. It's a total money pit." Well . . . fast forward 13 years. We were at a birthday party for one of Andrew's friends. Andrew was about 7 and Alexa was about 2. The party was at a horse farm, and the kids got to ride. Well . . . other people's kids rode. Andrew didn't want a doggone thing to do with that horse. It took awhile to convince him to give it a try. Meanwhile, his 2 year old sister would have done anything to ride, but she wasn't old enough. I laughed and laughed. I tried to tell Doug, horse people are born, not created, and pretty much he could say all he wanted but . . . he'd be back in the horse life eventually. When Alexa was somewhere between 3 and 4, my sister in law re-entered the horse life after a few years out of it, and invited us to see her new horse. Alexa jumped in and rode and smiled the entire time. Andrew stood a safe 30 feet away. Again- he was fine observing from a distance. I laughed and laughed again. Karma is so funny (when it happens to other people, though.). Then a lady I work with, invited me and the kids to come see her horses. Alexa rode, while Andrew helped brush them and care for them. And finally a year and a half ago, Alexa started with riding lessons.
Sometimes I drop her off and go run errands. Sometimes I go exercise. Sometimes I sit in the car and enjoy the breeze, the sun, and the sound of the horses. I LOVE the barn. It is one of the most peaceful places. I was talking to a friend about it one day and she looked horrified. She said nothing about this appealed to her at all. What?! How?! Everything about it appeals to me. I love the smells (yes- all of them). I love the sounds. I love the horses. I love petting them. I love observing them in the fields. They have personalities. Obvious personalities.
Awhile back, Alexa started saying things like, "Dad's mean because he won't buy me a horse!" (she's not bratty when she says it. she's super matter of fact about it- which is the part that makes me laugh). I mean- Alexa's got the whole thing figured out! Dad will pay for it. Andrew will take care of it (because he likes to clean stalls and feed them) and she'll play with it. (you have to admire the way she delegates all the unfun parts out). While I laugh . . . I wouldn't mind a horse. I would love to have enough land to go riding.
So . . . how does Doug being lucky fit into all of this? He's lucky I have a concept of a budget and I don't ask to do lessons myself (I need them, as it's been YEARS since I rode and I don't think I could just leap up on a horse and go). Or he's lucky that I haven't really pushed the whole "lease" a horse or even . . . gasp . . . buy one!!!!! He's also lucky that he got a warning that this is certainly something that could happen. :-)
Let me back up. The first weekend I met Doug's parents, they were working on building a barn for my sister in law's horse. The horse wasn't there yet (she wasn't my sister in law yet). But Doug was pretty open about his feelings on, "My kids won't ever do horses. It's a total money pit." Well . . . fast forward 13 years. We were at a birthday party for one of Andrew's friends. Andrew was about 7 and Alexa was about 2. The party was at a horse farm, and the kids got to ride. Well . . . other people's kids rode. Andrew didn't want a doggone thing to do with that horse. It took awhile to convince him to give it a try. Meanwhile, his 2 year old sister would have done anything to ride, but she wasn't old enough. I laughed and laughed. I tried to tell Doug, horse people are born, not created, and pretty much he could say all he wanted but . . . he'd be back in the horse life eventually. When Alexa was somewhere between 3 and 4, my sister in law re-entered the horse life after a few years out of it, and invited us to see her new horse. Alexa jumped in and rode and smiled the entire time. Andrew stood a safe 30 feet away. Again- he was fine observing from a distance. I laughed and laughed again. Karma is so funny (when it happens to other people, though.). Then a lady I work with, invited me and the kids to come see her horses. Alexa rode, while Andrew helped brush them and care for them. And finally a year and a half ago, Alexa started with riding lessons.
Sometimes I drop her off and go run errands. Sometimes I go exercise. Sometimes I sit in the car and enjoy the breeze, the sun, and the sound of the horses. I LOVE the barn. It is one of the most peaceful places. I was talking to a friend about it one day and she looked horrified. She said nothing about this appealed to her at all. What?! How?! Everything about it appeals to me. I love the smells (yes- all of them). I love the sounds. I love the horses. I love petting them. I love observing them in the fields. They have personalities. Obvious personalities.
Awhile back, Alexa started saying things like, "Dad's mean because he won't buy me a horse!" (she's not bratty when she says it. she's super matter of fact about it- which is the part that makes me laugh). I mean- Alexa's got the whole thing figured out! Dad will pay for it. Andrew will take care of it (because he likes to clean stalls and feed them) and she'll play with it. (you have to admire the way she delegates all the unfun parts out). While I laugh . . . I wouldn't mind a horse. I would love to have enough land to go riding.
So . . . how does Doug being lucky fit into all of this? He's lucky I have a concept of a budget and I don't ask to do lessons myself (I need them, as it's been YEARS since I rode and I don't think I could just leap up on a horse and go). Or he's lucky that I haven't really pushed the whole "lease" a horse or even . . . gasp . . . buy one!!!!! He's also lucky that he got a warning that this is certainly something that could happen. :-)
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