Catching Fireflies

Some days I feel as though I have been so busy that I did not take the time to actually experience or enjoy any of the individual events. This is especially true on the days that Michael travels and I have to take care of all of Isaiah's needs on top of my other responsibilities. I am fortunate that I have a husband who truly does split the child care, etc 50/50, because I don't think I would be able to half of what I do otherwise! Single parents....you are my heroes! I always think of those really rushed days as "bad" days. I was reading a blog the other day by someone who was thinking about the 3rd anniversary of the death of a special horse. She said that whenever someone tells her that they have had a bad day she asks them: "will you remember this day a year from now? NO? Then it's not a bad day." She went on to say that thinking about something a year later means that it was indeed a bad day. When you still remember it 3 years later it was a REALLY, REALLY bad day. It made me think of the recent 3 year mark of the barn fire, and I realized that no matter how hard I try I will always think of the fire on July 9. How many really's can I put in front of bad day? On the other hand, it happened, and that's that. I don't think that I dwell on the incident itself (at least I try not to!), but instead now I am learning and growing as a result of that experience. Look at this beautiful girl....how can you not smile when you look at this face!

Sometimes when I am going through Suki's routine care, I find that I am going through the motions because I am pressed for time to get home and make dinner or some other household chore. Then I am not in the correct frame of mind to write or relax and find myself frazzled instead of fulfilled. I have Suki's routine down to a science, but I am trying to, even on those rushed evenings, to make sure that I speak to her the entire time rather than just think quietly to myself. My thinking is done aloud, so that Suki and I can "converse". It helps me to relax, and I watch her ears twitch as she listens. I love when I get just the right itchy spot and she turns herself inside out to ask for more. The twitch of a lip and twist of the neck and I know she is enjoying every moment. I find that if I don't speak enough while I am grooming she swishes her tail more an nudges me. Once the conversation picks up she seems to relax again. She's not too obvious is she?

One of the reasons I ride early in the morning on the weekends is so that I can do the same thing with Nikki. Weekday rides are a little more rushed, but I always make sure that I take the time to let Nikki know how special she is. Early morning on the weekends enables me to slow it down a notch (Saturdays can be a little more rushed if I start later than I mean to) and really groom and massage Nikki. It is nice down time after our ride, and on days when it is not too buggy I take her out to hand graze. That too, is relaxing, until the impatient 5 year old in her comes out and she motors around looking for the perfect spot! She usually settles down again, and I lean against her big bay shoulder taking in the wonderful horse scent. No wonder my hair smells like horses when I leave! But that's okay too, because it is part of spending time with horses....and I LOVE that smell!

When Isaiah and I returned home after taking care of Suki last night, I tried to rush him into the house for his bath. Isaiah had a different plan in mind. He had brought his bug vacuum to the barn (it collects bugs safely and humanely, allowing for observation then release)and wanted to continue this at home. My initial reaction was "let's just get in the house. It's hot, you need a bath, and I have a million things to do." But then I took a step back and remembered that he would only be six once, and I remembered how much I loved to catch fireflies as a child. So instead of rushing inside, I let Ripley out and Isaiah and I set about to catch fireflies. We had a wonderful time running across the lawn, laughing, and collecting the little "light-ups". After observing them in the container, we released all of them, counting them as they floated up lighting the night sky. Once they had flown away we looked up and counted the stars, trying to identify the constellations. There were no arguments then about the bath, and after Isaiah was squeaky clean I made popcorn in the Whirlypop and we read "The Adventures of Frog and Toad". All of the other chores can wait. Being six cannot wait and won't last forever. Take time to catch fireflies and count the stars.