Broken Hearts

In Loving Memory of
Meah
unknown- January 27th, 2009

Not so long ago, if you remember,
our family was given a wonderful gift pony.
Meah was instantly... and I do mean INSTANTLY...
adored by our sweet, tender daughter.

Immediate and Intimate friendship.
Every girl ought to experience that incredible bond with an equine
at least once in a lifetime.

Meah would stand for hours to be groomed
and have her mane braided.
Our Tender-heart practiced plaiting Meah's tail for days on end.
Sometimes they would just walk together.
Mostly, Tender-heart would hop on bare back and
wander the depths of adventure and imagination...
all shared with her most beloved pony friend.

Hair-tied-in-knots also loved Meah deeply.
Meah gave her confidence
and earned her trust.
Meah took care of my girls.
To me, Meah was priceless!!

A Terrible illness robbed sweet Meah's body.
We fought for her
but her body continued to fail.
The worst decision ever was necessary.

In the end, good-byes were spoken and shared
while tears fell.
All those who witnessed it were deeply affected
and none will ever question the bond
that was inscribed on the hearts of my girls.

My sweet Tender-heart is incredibly courageous.
I wanted to buffer the pain and offered to turn Meah over to our vet
in that final decision.
She chose to lead her best friend to the finish line.
More unspoken goodbyes hung in the air.
Quietly, and gently, she removed the halter she'd chosen so carefully
for her Meah-girl only a short 11 months ago.
She rubbed her muzzle and said goodbye.
It was the courage of love...

When I took this picture, my heart swelled because it perfectly
captured my daughter's heart.
And now, it rips my heart out.

And still.... I am ever so thankful that my tender girl
can say she's experienced
that unspeakable, heart-wrenching bond.
Her heart is broken but
she knows what it is to love deeply.

It's NOT My Fault!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Meet Mr. Banks!


He'll be climbing aboard our trailer tomorrow morning and coming home to be doted on & loved by our girls!

What happened to the week?

Here we are... it's Friday and I feel like someone hit a fast forward button on my week. Did I miss a few days? I'm pretty sure I did.

Monday morning started with our farrier, David. The horses were mostly well-behaved for him. Mr. MaGee always has to test to see where the limits are. It's become more subtle than when he was a yearling. Now as a four year old, he is more devious about it. But David feels it all. MaGoof shifts his weight around in an apparent attempt to test David's weight limit. When he attempts to put most of his 1000 pounds in David's hands, David scolds him and he straightens up for a few minutes- gives acting a try while portraying an innocent angel pony-- then finds a new way to test the limits of David's strength. It's never overtly naughty... rather like he's messing around.

Of course, David's not so innocent. He's gotten me into trouble this week! .... more on that in a minute.

Tuesday was semi busy. A trip to town to review kitchen designs for the house we're currently renovating. Ugh! You gotta love the way designer creativity adds to the bill. In this case, the creativity was going to add over $1000 to the overall bill. We decided the creativity -while creative- was not practical. Scratch the creative and stick to the practical -- go for quality.

Wednesday morning I awoke to swollen hands, knees & feet topped off with red, itchy blotches and painful joints. This is not new for me. I've probably had this happen half a dozen times since high school. And yes... I have seen a doctor for it several times. It's always the same answer... "we don't know", "you must be allergic to something. Think about what you ate", "take some Benedryl". I go home, take some benedryl and slip into a coma for the next 12 hours. I'm a freak of nature. Who knows? But I suspect my missing week has to do with this mystery relapse and benedryl. I've eaten nothing out of the ordinary and haven't done anything that I don't do in my daily living. Why the sudden flare up? No clue! I'm a freak!

I am better today and ready to get in trouble. I'm blaming it on David, our farrier! As you may know, we have 4 horses... one of those being a miniature stallion. When the 4 of us ride, we have 3 horses to ride. Do the math! We're short a mount. So David "innocently" inquired whether I might be looking for another pony. LOL I haven't been actively shopping but I have been watching. I figured that taking my time would allow the right pony to come along. So, of course, I could only answer, "actually... yes, I've been looking". Well! You guessed it! David knew of a very nice pony that one of his other clients has for sale. (Jason thanks you David!!! LOL)

Finding a horse that fits your needs and is known by someone you trust is always a valuable thing. And even better... your farrier who handles the horse/pony regularly. So this afternoon we'll be meeting this pony. He sounds like a gem... a been there, done that gentleman who is well rounded and versatile.

::giggle::

I'll keep you posted... and maybe even have pictures to share later!



P.S. Hair-tied-in-knots told us Wednesday that she had her outfit all picked out for when she gets to meet the pony! She very promptly put on said outfit as soon as she was out of bed this morning. Riding breeches & a "horsey" t-shirt! ::more giggling::

S--l--o--o--o--w Motion

You know those moments in life that fill just a few minutes or even just mere seconds yet are processed in your brain in a manner that makes you feel like it is happening in slow motion? Sometimes it's almost as if you are standing on the sidelines watching the event unfold. Or maybe it's as if your brain is processing the experience in a series of still shots that freeze each frame as it happens. It's weird! And it leaves you with a strange sensation depending on the outcome.

When I was pregnant with Hair-tied-in-knots, we hit a patch of ice and our vehicle could no longer be convinced to travel in the direction intended (around a 90 degree bend in the road). That moment still plays in my mind in s--l--o--o--o--w motion. I remember my-good-man-Charlie-Brown making every effort to stop the event-- brakes don't work on sheer ice. I remember realizing we were going straight into the trees ahead. I remember thinking, "this is going to HURT!" I remember turning to the inside of the car to avoid the shattering glass. How we ended up perfectly squeezed between two trees can only be attributed to God's Hand on us. We all walked away unharmed. I spent the afternoon finding glass in strange places.

The actual giving birth to my second and third daughters... those moments play in my mind as if they were hours stretched before me. I recall all kinds of details in those moments. I remember that it hurt but oddly enough... the pain actually fades aways-- otherwise, who would go thru it again?? REALLY!!?? In reality, the pushing stage of labor lasted less than 10 minutes with each. I don't know how long the reality of my first child's birth was. She was born by c-section and I was drugged & numb! THAT birth took hours!!:)

When my brother used to race dirt bikes, the start of the race... from the drop of the gates to the first turn... that seemed to take an eternity. The whole time I sat with my heart in my throat. When he would come out of that corner unscathed... and better... in the front... THEN I could breathe again. Yeah... that happens quickly but my brain always slowed it down.

I once fell off a mare we used to own. I got myself into the situation by a lack of good judgment and the consequences were only just and fair. She bolted and I knew that the other end of the run was going to involve me and the ground. It was a snowy winter day and I foolishly thought that the combination of coveralls and snow would act like a nice cushy mattress. I vividly knew when the fall began. My brain even slowed the event enough that I "planned" the place I should land. Slow motion or NOT... snow & coveralls do not equal cushy mattress! Yeah! THAT hurt!

Worse than my fall was the day Hair-tied-in-knots was riding a very well behaved haflinger when another horse had a moment of rebellion. I was standing beside my then 6 yo daughter who was happily riding all by herself. The other horse was young and the girl lungeing him essentially lost control of him. As he came careening around the outside of where we were, the girl didn't let go of the lunge line. I knew the second the pony left the spot. What choice did he have? He was just clothes-lined by an unexpected lunge line. Hair-tied-in-knots was on top of the saddle when she was next to me. I don't have a clue how I escaped injury... I was between the horses and don't remember ducking to avoid the now taut lunge line. I DO remember looking over and NOT seeing Hair-tied-in-knots on top of the pony. Nor was she on the ground! I knew that meant she was hanging on to the side of the saddle. Yeah! That whole scene plays in S-----L-----O-----W motion!! She did let go and she was fine... 'tho scared. So was the pony and both remember the experience all too well.

It's weird how the brain processes events sometimes.

I had a .....s--l--o--w ........m--o--t--i--o--n ........event today.

I climbed out of the car... shut the door...... saw horror on my dad's face... heard him say something like "OH! n...." (unfinished "no")... that was the second the door left my grasp... I vividly saw my mother's hand on the door jamb! .... my heart stopped!
Once again, I can only give the Lord credit causing her to move her hand JUST IN TIME! I don't know how her hand got out of there. There certainly didn't seem to be enough time but... (oh yeah! I can breathe.... I forgot!)... she has all of her fingers and none of them were crushed!

Oh! I'm so glad her hand didn't get shut in that door!!

PHEW!

I love you Mom! :)

Wrong Way Again

A moment to stop, finally!

As you know, we love our animals! I am supposed to be working on reducing the number of horses we own but I've gone the WRONG WAY again!

Meet Meah (me-uh).



We were given the rare and gracious opportunity to adopt Meah since her owner is moving from the country to the city. Just a good home where she'll be loved and enjoyed is what Meah needed.

It seems that ponies like Meah are rarely found listed for sale and most often are lifetime members of the family. On occasion they are adopted by another growing family. My own childhood pony was actually loaned to us until we no longer had a use for him. (He was special too!) While still being "pony", they know their job and they love kids.

Meah is no exception. She really seems to have an affection for "little people" and a very gentle soul. I anticipated that she might take a moment to consider getting into our strange-to-her horse trailer. On the contrary, she tickled me by following our 9 year old right in without batting an eyelash.



Meah took that bite of grass she wanted but then she did give in to the little girl on the end of that line. She walked along patiently. They're already figuring each other out! :) They all love her!



But this child...


...this child's heart is involved!