We took the kids horseback riding. Not the kind of horseback riding where you sit atop a horse and go in circles. This was trail riding... no ropes, no trainer, no seatbelts and no arena.
Maisie rode a horse named Utah, Ross rode Tiger and Mike rode Ace. Since Molly was too little to ride a horse of her own (thank God), she and I rode together. Our horse was enormous, black, old and a slightly on the gnarly side. Appropriately, his name was Grizzly.
I'm not gonna lie, I was terrified. The sheer height of being on such a massive animal was enough to make my knees wobbly. Not to mention my baby was squished onto the saddle with me... holding onto nothing but the saddle horn. As her tennis shoes dug into my shins with each of Grizzly's steps, I nervously tried to keep her centered on the horse, occasionally pulling up on the reins to keep Grizzly from getting too close to Mike's horse Ace, who rode directly in front of us. Meanwhile, Maisie confidently lead the pack.
At that moment, it became clear... my kids are growing up.
Suddenly and out of nowhere, Grizzly got spooked by a deer. Terror. Pure terror ran though me. As I sat atop a spooked horse, I watched ahead of me as Ace, Tiger and Utah bucked up and made nervous horse sounds as they shuffled around in the dirt. After a moment, my heart regained normal rhythm, the horses relaxed and were soon realigned back on the path.
During the 3 mile ride, Ross' horse pooped, Maisie's peed and apparently had a gas issue as Ross and Maisie found this hilarious.
I was just beginning to relax and enjoy the ride when we were instructed to 'trot'. Huh? Before I could object, all the horses began trotting. I didn't even have to kick Grizzly in the side to make him start. He seemed to know the routine. I was now bopping up and down on a horse (Molly bopping on top of my bops) as I gripped ahold of Mollys' forearms with one hand while holding the reins with the other. I thank my inherited Claussen arm strength for being able to pull off that feat.
I couldn't wait for the ride to end and embrace safety. However, Mollys squeals of joy combined with Ross, Maisie and Mikes laughter and genuine smiles while 'trotting' had me wishing this ride would never end. Those were my people. And my people were happy and loving the ride.
Therefore, so was I.
With that, I've concluded everything I've ever needed to know about motherhood, I learned from atop a gnarly horse named Grizzly.
1. You don't always get what you expect.
2. Kids are capable of accomplishing things way before you think they're ready.
3. Old isn't necessarily bad.
5. Put your trust and faith in a power much larger than yourself. Most things aren't up to us anyway.
6. Everyone poops and all kids (including husbands) will find bathroom humor hilarious. It's just the way it is. Accept it and move on.
7. As cautious as you are, things will happen and once in a while you'll get spooked. It's a bump in the road, take a breath, realign and continue the ride. Things have a way of smoothing out.
8. Never, ever, ever underestimate your strength when it comes to your kids.
9. Sometimes things will move faster than you're ready for. Just hold on tight, keep calm and confident. You're the mom... you've got this.
3. You must let go of the fear, the what if's, the unknowns. Let go, relax and enjoy the ride. Everyone else is.
I have no photos from the actual ride. For obvious reasons.
Enjoy a couple lake photos instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment