I have not blogged in a while and I thought it might be nice to look at a little trip from last month that we took to see dear friends in Texas. It was a special trip not only because we got to spend time with some of the people who make our lives brighter, but also because it was the first time my oldest got to get on a horse.
She was so excited because she got to with her “Boy Friend” to ride a horse. Yes, she is only 9 and he is only 10, but they have an innocent relationship that I think is wonderful for them both, still a fairy tale though a hard one I think as they live so far apart now.
We went into the barn, met the instructor that Yoshi (The boy friends nick name) and his little 4 year old sister get lessons from each week. Before I knew it, they had a helmet on my daughter and the instructor handed the reins to my daughter to lead the horse out of the barn while she took care of other students. This was a shock to me as my daughter had not been around horses and I thought I had expressed that. Yet this women was trusting my daughter with no instruction yet to lead the horse, that to me looked so much bigger then her. Yes, I had a little mommy fear but my daughter seemed to have little. After she told me she was worried a little at first but the horse just wanted her to lead so she did and then she did not worry any more. I grew up with experience with horses but it was so long ago, and this was my “baby” and the waiver I had just signed was on my mind.
A few moments later, the instructor helped her onto the horse and the children in the class where all going in circles around the ring. My pixie was loving it. She got all turned around a few times when going around corners. It was funny listing to the instructor (Her day job being military actually) telling my child to be aggressive with the horse and show him what to do. I thought maybe my daughter would feel badly for not doing it perfectly but she was ok, even with the reminders over and over. She enjoyed riding and helped me see that she might need some more role models that are assertive and more experience being in charge. It was a wonderful experience and I think we grew from it. Now to find some local stables!
Being a military family we travel a lot. We do many hard things. Some things are not so hard, but they are done for love as well. That day is one I am glad my daughter had. I feel blessed to have friends wanting to share it with us.
