Heaven on Earth

I start every day and end every day by checking in on all of my Lyme friends to see how they are doing. Unless you spend a lot of time around someone with Lyme disease, you can't imagine the physical and mental pain that it causes. It is so easy to lose hope when you are sick day after day, and I really worry about my Lyme friends. I hope this post helps all of you out there with Lyme disease to remember that you will get better and that there are amazing things waiting just around the corner for you, too!

Last Saturday, as many of you know, my dream came true and I found my equine soul mate. While I did have one day where I sent my friend a panicked email along the lines of "What have I done; I'm too sick to take care of a horse!",  I really feel with all my heart that getting this horse was the right thing to do. Owning a horse and struggling with chronic illness is going to be a challenge, but it has already given me so much joy after only one week.

My horse is boarded at a barn about 10 minutes away from where I live. The owners feed and water and keep a close watch on all of the horses. Anytime I can't make it out to the barn, I know my horse is in good hands. The barn owners always go above and beyond (I boarded my previous horse with them for five years) and I am so blessed to have found such an amazing home for my precious new horse, Fjóla.

Peekaboo! 

Thanks to my dear, understanding hubby, who graciously became a single father this week so I could spend every possible moment together with my new horse, I managed to make it to the barn every day but one this week, and with the level of exhaustion I felt  (plus being in the middle of a major heat wave here), that is pretty impressive.

I didn't anticipate the impact Fjóla would have on me so quickly. The thought of that beautiful horse--so excited to see me already, after only one week together--makes every day that I can possibly make it to the barn worth every bit of the fight that it takes to get to her. And she has shown me after such a short time together that she--the pony who went almost entirely unhandled for all but the last half a year--was waiting for someone just like me her whole life. She is the most loving, kind, affectionate, curious and laid back horse I've ever met! It just goes to show you that the dreams that you have to fight the hardest for are truly heaven on earth!