A Girl and a Horse

I had a very rare afternoon to myself today without my kids, thanks to my mother-in-law, and I was feeling pretty well, so I hopped in the car and went to the barn. It was a gorgeous day out and, as always, my pretty pony was waiting for me.

"Hi, Mama!"

There is no greater joy on this earth than being on top of my horse. I have no pain when I am sitting on her and I believe with all my heart that she understands what a gift she is giving me when I ride her. Mostly, though I don't have enough energy to ride, so we just "park" and I sit on her back and dream about riding while she eats her hay.

When I started Bicillin injections, my doctor told me I'd most likely be too sore to ride my horse. When I told my mom that, she said, "I know you and you'll do it anyway!" What can I say, my mom knows me well. Last week, I went to the barn and tried to climb up on my horse, and ended up hurting myself. I figured it was time to put away my cowgirl boots until I was done with the shots.

But if you know me, you know that I am stubborn. Very stubborn. I took my pony into the arena today and we walked around and around while I contemplated whether or not I should get up on her again. She seemed to say to me, "Just get on already, lady!" So I did. We rode for about 10 minutes--bareback, bridleless, and without reins. And it was amazing.

I'm exhausted after my 10 minutes of being a cowgirl and I'm resting now, but it was worth every bit of the pain that it will cause me for the next several days. Knowing that my dream horse is waiting for me at the barn gives me so much strength to beat the snot out of this disease.