I am sure you are all awaiting this post.  Clearly, my weekend is utmost on the minds of many.  I will give you the lowdown (okay, so some of it!).

My friend and I had a good reunion. For the sake of privacy let’s call him by a made-up name which will be Chris for now.  We knew each other well, way back when, but had not seen one another in many years.  I guess I expected us to be the same lively, vibrant, young couple we had been once before, as it is human nature to remember ourselves the way we were.

But boy, we have both covered a lot of ground in the years that have flown by.  I was a good athlete, swimming, skiing and riding.  He was a terrific athlete as well,playing basketball and football.  But the years have made us a little softer, a little older and thankfully, a little kinder.

When we got home from airport after the long drive where we tried to catch up some and tentatively touch one another’s hand or graze a touch across a leg, it was late.  We got the bounding herd of dogs out first.  I had warned Chris about them, but seeing two large poodles, a Doberman, a spaniel and two dachshunds race towards you is unnerving for anyone.

We got them outside and headed to the barn.  The horses usually go back out for the night around 7:30 so we were way later than usual.  Everyone was neighing, pounding their hooves on their gates and pacing with anticipation.

For someone with literally no knowledge of horses to just be handed a horse by his halter and told hang on, is a little dangerous.  Fortunately the horses knew their routine and quietly followed Chris and I, one by one, out to their pastures.  We got hay for the horses staying in for the night and got inside to eat the soup that had been left by our boarder.  I am very grateful for our food as there is no way I could have put together any dinner at that point.

So, not to get into details as this is a family blog, there were some issues with dogs who have slept in certain spots on my bed since they were mere pups.  Suddenly, those spots were unavailable.  It lead to some crazy, anxious pups as they struggled to get to their favorite sleeping spots only to find someone else in residence.  From Chris’ perspective, I am sure it was a little daunting to have to fight a Doberman over a place to sleep.  It was long past midnight before everyone settled in to sleep.

Maui, the soon to be one year old Poodle, has a clock in his head and was exactly on time as he jumped on the bed at 4:30 am to tell us it was time to feed the horses.  It was pretty cool for Houston but clear and calm as we trudged out to feed the horses on a few hours sleep.  It is easy to see if you have a keeper if someone will leave a warm house for a cold barn, in the dark, to feed a bunch of horses. Mickey got a little aggressive and tried to rip out Chris’ arm but other than that it went well.  This second time to the barn, he was even reliably getting the names right of most of my horses (pretty impressive feat).

Saturday was a beautiful day.  We ended up with several visitors which was fine.  Chris and I worked on catching up on weekend chores like emptying and refilling the big water troughs in the pastures.  I always have said that God has a sense of humor and it was apparent in all the things that were happening.  The first water trough had not one, but two dead squirrels in it.

Nothing like a rapid indoctrination into life on the farm-life with dead animals.  I illustrated how to make up the feed for 15 horses and all the types of hay they eat and supplements they take.  To an outsider it is pretty overwhelming.  Personally, I was glad to turn over the carrying, opening and pouring of the 50 pound bags of feed to someone stronger than me.  I also liked it on Sunday when Chris remembered which feeds went in which containers.  I was giving him extra points for quick learning.

Before we knew it the sun was sinking in the west and it was time to once again feed horses and get them in.  The art of blanketing was introduced which also went a lot better for me with having someone to hold the horse while I blanketed it.

Saturday night we had a quiet dinner and finally had some time to talk about where life had taken us over the years.  Except for college, he has remained in the same city we meet in while I have been all over the country.  We recognized a couple of spots in our lives where if one of us had just done things a little differently we would not have missed out on all these years together.  Still, no regrets as we both have amazing children (now adults) and neither of us would change that for anything.

Sunday morning had us going from 4 am on.  It was lesson day at the farm.  I was hosting a pot-luck for the riders and their families.  It would also give everyone a chance to meet Chris.

The first to arrive was Ally with Jordyn and Kendyll.  From the first moment, Chris engaged them with book activity and then came up with a plan for all of us to go pick up rocks on the drive way  Then we used the rocks to fill up some pretty big holes that had developed with the rain.  Ingenuity.

As Jordyn got ready for her lesson, Kendyll joined Chris and I in the feed room.  Kendyll was already calling out to “Grandpa Chris” and sternly lecturing him on how to manage the feed process.  They were pretty cute.

It all got pretty complicated with trailers coming in full of ponies, riders, siblings and parents that Chris had not met yet, coupled with some wild riding in ring.  I think my friend got a very rich indoctrination of life a boarding and training barn.  Don’t forget he had to keep throwing the tennis ball for the poodle and holding Sammi the Dachshund.

All in all, it was over too soon and we were on the road back to the airport.  Kendyll was at home telling her other grandparents about her new grandparent.  I figure that someone willing to get up at 4 am, learn all the horse’s names, sleep with the dogs, play with the grandkids and throw tennis balls for hours to the poodle is worth another visit.

So, where will I be tonight?  Hanging out at the airport again.  Huh, might just get to be a steady thing.  We will see!

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Jordyn will make her debut in the horse show ring on Mickey tomorrow doing walk/trot just as Lauren did 12 years ago.  I am trying to get Jo to understand there will be a lot of riders and there may not be any ribbons this first time out.  Hopefully, they have a great day!