Back in the Saddle

A new day, a new attitude.

Treatment didn't happen this week and although the change of plans was difficult for this hyper-planner to deal with at first, I'm so glad things worked out the way they did. Having this week off treatment has left me time to get a few things done and have a few cool experiences with the kids that I would have missed otherwise. It was like winning the Healthy Me Lotto; I was given this extra week of feeling good between appointments and so far, I've made the most of it.

I have loved the little moments of sitting with Crafty and talking about school and seeing Mischief's crazy excitement after he caught a passel of butterflies with the neighbors. I have enjoyed going out for coffee with a friend, volunteering at church and taking a drive in to the city with Mr. Awesome but nothing compares to yesterday evening!

Dude is back at Keen Ridge this spring, but instead of just participating in the Equine Therapy during the day, he is going out there once a week in the evenings for riding lessons. He couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to actually RIDE the horses but he's also been disappointed that I've not been well enough to go out to the arena to watch him. This week, my Lotto week, that all changed!

Yesterday after super we packed our crew into the van and headed out to Keen Ridge for Dude's lesson. He chatted the whole way there about how cool his horse is, how much he's learning and what an awesome teacher Terry is (even though she's a girl and really, really pregnant!). We had barely stopped the van before he jumped out and raced to the door of the arena, pausing for only a moment to pet his favourite dog along the way.

Mr. Awesome and I had a seat in 'The Cage' and watched for nearly two hours as Dude groomed, saddled and guided his horse (Skitty) through different exercises. He rode around and around the arena, pausing often to make sure we were getting pictures of him and his horse pal. We were amazed at how calm, in control and responsive to correction Dude was while he was in the saddle. All of his normal anxiety and defensiveness seemed to melt away as Terry taught him how to build trust with Skitty so that she would respond to his direction.

On the way home, Dude recounted every moment of the lesson with excited detail. When I asked him if it felt good to be in control, he answered, "I'm not really in control. Skitty and I are partners, we have to trust each other."

That reminded me of how anxious and grumpy I had been earlier in the week. My whole attitude crappy because I wasn't in control, but I don't need to be in control. I just need to remember to do my part, stay positive, take care of myself and keep moving forward, and let the doctors and nurses (and most importantly, God) do their thing. I need to trust.

It's good to feel like myself, to be back in the saddle again!

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world. ~Josephine Demott Robinson


For more information on Keen Ridge click here or here.