There is a fun schooling show in May that I would love to attend. They have an amoeba level class that is intro dressage followed by 18″ stadium course. I really, really, really want to go. Trainer is an enabler and told me to sign up with Gem (I think the hubby sorta hates her 🙂 It is also super close so I could go the day of and return that same evening = less money and more family time.
The problem?
Spending the last four years fine tuning my endurance gear leaves me with absolutely nothing horse show appropriate. At all. Even my riding attire is all sorts of wrong.
I sat down to figure out what all I would need before being able to even attend a local schooling show. Turns out the list is pretty long and even buying most things used is still outside my current budget.
Gem needs:
Jump girth. This needs bought ASAP anyway so I can actually use the saddle outside the barn where I can borrow one from Trainer
Leathers for jump saddle. I borrowed my black ones off the dressage saddle for the lesson but that won’t work at a show. Something about needing to match and all.
Stirrup irons for jump saddle. Showing stirrupless is not an option. Or at least not one I would be stupid enough to try. I know myself and I know I will be too nervous and type A about timing to want to deal with taking irons off the dressage leathers and putting them on the jump saddle.
Leather bridles x 2. The whole matching thing again. With a black dressage saddle and a brown jump one I need a bridle in each color. I used to have a lovely brown one that fit Gem well, but I can’t find it. I’m pretty sure I know where it was hidden when we moved, but that still leaves me needing a black one.
Appropriate saddle pads. My red square pad is fine for lessons, but is not appropriate for either phase. It has big pockets for use on trail. Can you stop and eat a sandwich mid course if you get hungry? Something tells me no.
Nothing about this is legal.I need:
Tall boots vs paddock boots with half chaps. Apparently tennis shoes and fleece leather covers or mesh chaps aren’t allowed. In lessons I use ancient Ariat tennis shoe type riding shoes that are brown and my black mesh endurance half chaps. Trainer’s eyes bleed a little when she sees me. I’m leaning towards tall boots since I’d have to buy both paddock boots and chaps and the cost for boots (non custom) wouldn’t be a whole lot more.
A shirt with a collar. Comfortable cotton endurance ride t-shirts are prohibited. I don’t think I’ve worn a collared shirt in like 20 years. I don’t even own one. Or maybe I’d need an actual show shirt? I don’t know.
Real breeches. You know the type with belt loops and not made of stretchy lycra? Yeah those type. I don’t have a single pair. All tights all the way. And my tights are black, so I can’t even hope to use them and not be noticed.
A…gasp…belt. Um…I think its been even longer since I’ve worn a belt. With anything.
Hair net. I think I’d need this. I’ve got long hair now. Maybe easier to chop it off, but its been such a patient process to grow it out. Seems a bit hasty for a single show.
Jacket?? I’m pretty sure I can avoid buying one of these for schooling in the SC heat. I think all local schooling shows would prefer if you have one, but will waive it in the heat anyway. I think. I need to do a little more research on this one because jackets are pricey. Even used ones.
All sorts of show ring wrongAll said and done, that is a lot to purchase with only a few weeks to do it, so its looking about 99% reality that I’ll miss this one. Perhaps I can get the stuff together in enough time to make a late summer or early fall schooling show. At least my helmet is appropriate and since I have no intentions of taking Gem in open fields to fall jump over solid obstacles, I won’t be needing a vest any time soon.
I supported my endurance collection by selling off a bunch of stuff I had that didn’t work well for Gem, like a Wintec AP that fit us both horribly, bits she hated and the like. I have absolutely nothing to sell at the moment and $60 in my horse PayPal account. My endurance gear will have to be ripped from my cold, lifeless hands before I part with any of it.
Part of the problem is that I don’t even know what I want or would like. I don’t have a good tack store near me to go try on a bunch of stuff and I can’t really afford to waste money on shipping. I honestly don’t even know where to begin. Ugh.
What I really need is someone who is familiar with all this stuff to pity me and become my personal shopper. I’m scanning online used tack sites and facebook pages and plan to read as many tack review posts as I can on the blogs I follow, but I could really use a real live person helping me shop. Any takers??
It has been a while since I did a book review. I thought I would get a lot more read on my trip, but most of the time was spent exploring or at the conference and I couldn’t read while the kiddo slept as I usually do because we shared a hotel room and the light bothered him.
My mom had no interest in choosing a book for this prompt as it was extremely outside her comfort zone. I chose it so I would have something for the trip and then she got the next two.
Since this is also a genre I don’t typically read, I ended up just gong to the library and browsing. While they shelve their books like a typical library, alphabetical per author, they also add stickers to the spines to show the genre. I looked at the books with a UFO on the spine and picked one at random that sounded interesting.
A Book Involving a Mythical Creature: The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan Howard
Horst Cabal thought he was quite dead, and dead for good, until he was risen by a diabolical team of power hungry politicians. He was a little disappointed to find that he was no longer dead. For their part, those who brought him back were also disappointed when they soon figured out they had chosen the wrong Vampire. This one had a conscience and had no interest in being their Lord of The Dead.
Horst soon finds himself in the midst of a plot to create a state of monsters: werebeings, vampires, zombies and the like. In order to help stop this plan he brings his brother, Johannes Cabal, back from Hell, where evidently Horst had previously sent him. Johannes is a necromancer and apparently a good one at that, no longer amused by bringing brainless zombies to animation, he is looking to bring people back from the dead with body, mind and soul intact.
Together they create a team that is hopefully, for the humans on the planet anyway, capable of stopping the evil plot at hand.
First, this is apparently the second book in a series. It did stand alone enough to make the experience enjoyable, but there were several instances where I wished I had picked up the first one instead. So, please read the first one first.
I really enjoyed this book. While it was not my typical genre, it was extremely well written with a big heaping dose of satire and humor thrown in. The satire part put me in mind of my favorite series, The Disc World by Terry Pratchett, and helped the otherwise heavy text flow.
The author was obviously writing for those who were very familiar with this type of book and even mentioned in an early on footnote that reading Lovecraft would probably be a good intro to his books as well. I’m not a fan of Lovecraft, but I was still able to follow the plot and understand most of the intricacies presented.
The novel is long: over 300 pages in hard copy with closely set text and single line print. It took a while to get through. At the end though, I found myself adding the first book to my list of books to read once this challenge is over.
If you are into this type of novel or are looking to test the waters into it, I highly suggest reading the series, though again, please start at the beginning since I believe it would make a lot more sense.
Gem earned a walk break after all the canter work. I let her meander around a bit as Trainer set up an exercise for us.
4 trot poles leading up to a jump standard without any jump.
First up was the above: 4 ground poles through jump standards with no jump. She was nice and picked ones with a center stripe to help me be centered.
The first pass through we just walked and um…well I didn’t steer at all and we weaved through them like a drunk sailor and it was embarrassing. I’m not even sure what happened. Gem didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t nervous. I just didn’t ride. Ooops.
Second time through I actually rode and did my best to keep her between my legs. I really am not particularly good with the whole straight thing. I think I’m going straight, but then I see my tracks in the footing and it is really bad.
Anyway…once we went over it in each direction at the walk we picked up a nice, even trot and got busy trotting over them. Steering was much better and Gem can handle trot poles like a pro. Trainer liked what she saw enough to add a small cross rail (no clue the size but I think it was set to 18″ or maybe 2′) at the end.
This kinda blew Gem’s mind. She was so focused on the ground poles, that the jump just snuck up on her and she freaked. She went over and Trainer was really pleased that she responded with a yes answer, but she wasn’t liking it and it was too much. Trainer then removed the ground poles and left a placing pole and we did it again.
This time Gem focused on the jump and we went over it without much issue. But then the wheels fell off because….da da da…I stopped riding …again.
It was like I was so focused on keeping Gem straight to the jump, sinking my heel down and keeping my leg on to get her over the jump that I just didn’t really know what to do with myself after and we just kinda skidded around and did whatever on the other side.
Gem really isn’t much into jumping and she counts any hesitation on my part as a good excuse to just not do it. She is the queen of dirty stops and run outs. I’ve learned to really sink my heels down, look up and away from the jump and push her on. All that takes all my concentration and then I apparently like to celebrate the fact that I didn’t die and actually went over the jump with my horse instead of on my own.
This made Trainer not so happy, so we worked hard on me continuing to ride after the jump and keeping Gem straight afterward.
She did this by creating a shoot with ground poles after the jump
We came at it again, but this time I had to go straight after the jump and finish riding it. It went much better and Gem was a really good girl through out. While the mare HATES leg during flat work, it takes a crap ton of it to get her over a jump and I had to remind myself to use more leg, more leg, more leg.
Trainer dropped the first cross rail and added a second one to the middle jump standards allowing Gem time to get used to a new placement. She kept the original placing pole and dropped the two rails from the cross rail on the ground between that standard, so we had to go over one pole, two poles next to each other and then the jump. Gem was not happy with this. The first placing pole was no issue, but she really did not like how wide the two together were and was staring at that so hard that she never saw the jump. Once we were over the poles she was smack up against the jump and had to go from nearly a stand still. More leg, more leg!!
The final configuration.
Once we didn’t completely mess that up, she raised the first cross rail back again and we were told that once we did that right we were done. I went into the exercise with as much leg as I could, sank my heels down and told Gem she was a really good girl. By this time she had gotten used to the first cross rail and went over no problem, but the did hesitate at the second. She went over though and cantered away. Somehow we managed it the first time and that was it.
Lesson of the century, over.
I was so happy with Gem. As soon as we went a few canter strides straight way from the jump I leaned forward and gave her a massive hug. I’m sure the little pony clubber having her 3’3″ lesson after me thought I was crazy for acting like I just won the Olympics having completed two cross rails, but it felt huge to me.
Trainer laughed saying that Gem gave the horse equivalent of an eye roll and looked like a teenager just embarrassed by her mom. I don’t care. I know she secretly loves it.
I was a little anxious untacking her to see what the saddle had done. I wasn’t 100% sure of the fit and with all the canter and jump work, if it was going to slide around it would have. I was happy to see that it was exactly where I had placed it to girth up. All previous jump saddles have ended up on her neck after that much canter work. When it was all off, she had perfectly smooth hair all around and no sore spots. After an hour of hard work, something would have been tender had it not fit well. I think it is a keeper!
What Went Well:
We jumped a jump, I stayed on and nobody died.
I wasn’t nervous. First time ever jumping without a knot in my stomach
Trainer complemented Gem on her brain here. She said one time she thought Gem was going to add an extra stride in to make the jump , but instead she just lengthened her stride to make it happen. Really smart horse. If she didn’t hate jumping so much, she might actually be really, really good at it.
I kept my position, didn’t get jumped out of the tack even when she superman launched or chipped in really bad and didn’t catch her in the mouth (if it hasn’t been apparent this is one of my biggest jumping fears – nailing my poor horse  hard in the mouth)
What We Need to Work On:
Riding. Like…really riding. I already know with Gem that she will not go over anything without a superhuman amount of leg, so I don’t stop riding before a jump, but I tend to completely quit right after. No more of that.
Ride straight away from the jump. We aren’t advanced and working on angled jumps or big courses, so I need to ride straight away from it.
My approach kinda sucked. I either turned her way too early or too late. I eventually got it right, but it needn’t have taken me so long.
(This post and the following were written and scheduled to go up prior to saying goodbye to my Scrabs. It seems an odd juxtaposition to have such a happy and loving life type post the day after the other published, but in real life this lesson took place on my birthday, the 13th, and we said our sad goodbye on the 14th. I wanted the Scrabble tribute to post first though)
Not one to be overly gushy and mushy, but wow….Gem restored all my faith in her times 1000 and it is wonderful. This horse. She gives me everything she can, sometimes in ways I don’t know what to do with, but she is honest as the day is long and I am loving getting the chance to ride her.
Maybe my little come to Jesus talk with her during our last ride really did the trick, maybe all my lessons have given me more confidence and tools in my toolbox to work with her, maybe the new saddle (did I mention I got a new saddle for my birthday?!? squee!!) worked magic, maybe the new venue changed her attitude, maybe Trainer is just that amazing…or maybe, and more likely, all those things clicked into place to give me the best ride I have ever had on my Gemmie in seven years.
I started off a little worried, then began to smile, then grin form ear to ear, then full on little school girl giggling. I think Trainer thought I lost my mind. Maybe I did. I don’t want it back.
Thorowgood T8 Jump. Adjustable out the butt, fits the hard to fit mare and my butt loves it.Delicious dark brown leather pared with synthetics so I don’t have to be anal about cleaning it or riding in the rain. I adore it.
The lesson was broken up into a flat work session the first half and a jump session the second. This post would be way too long to write both up, so I am splitting it in two. I learned SO MUCH that keyboard diarrhea is imminent.
I was a little concerned with the fit on Gem. It seemed too narrow at the gullet, but it didn’t rock and the balance was spot on. The panels fit her like they were custom made which was not surprising as the dressage T8 I have does the same. The flocking was a bit much in the rear, but it is brand new and it should settle with use. I’m going to give it a few months of rides and then have a saddle fitter come in and adjust as needed.
Trainer hadn’t worked with Gem since the very first time at my house where Gem was her typical spazzy, tense and not listening oh-my-God-any-leg-means-gallop self. I think she was a bit nervous. We began with walking with a purpose and created a smaller rectangle in the large jump arena. Right way she could see the difference in Gem and I: I asked Gem to do something and expected it to be done and Gem was respondeing by doing it although sometimes begrudgingly.
The angle is helping any but she really has become a little portly. Ignoring that though: look how shiny she is. And dapples!!!!
We began with walk-halt-walk which is Gem’s worst thing ever. She really sees no point in stopping just to go again and Trainer even laughed about it remarking how she could tell that Gem thought halting was something other horses had to do. She could tell Gem was annoyed because she knew we would just be walking on again and what was the entire reason for doing this? For my part, she had me ask in a small series of quick bursts starting small then escalating to let Gem know I meant business but not create a tugging war with the reins. Eventually Gem acquiesced to the request to halt more promptly and we moved on.
The flat work half focused on one thing: adjustability. Gem and I worked hard at home on rhythm and it paid off as she picked up the nicest working trot that was fluid and forward but not braced or rushed. In fact trainer exclaimed that she was very cute when she behaved and had really nice movement. Maybe we wont completely fail at this English stuff after all.
Wondering what new form of torture I have in store for her
We kept on the smaller rectangle in the center of the arena and began to work on that adjustability thing. It was SO MUCH FUN!
Trainer had me think walk and really, really slow my posting down, sit up tall and tighten my core all while not touching the reins at all and I could feel Gem slow down nearing the walk. Right before she actually walked, I was to amp up my energy and send her on in the trot.
My timing was not quick enough in the beginning and we ended up walking a good bit or I would add too much leg too soon and we never really sowed down. It took a few circuits around before we got the hang of it. When we did though: magic. Gem began to really tune in and all I had to do was change my body posture and my energy level and she would slow then speed back up. Trainer then had me work on going from a working trot to an extended trot the same way.
Pretty soon she had us alternate between working, extended and slow trot at each side of the rectangle. It was a blast. Gem was relaxed and thankful that I wasn’t touching her mouth and really listened, coming back immediately and going forward with gusto but remaining relaxed. Holy crap! I didn’t know she had it in her and it was SO MUCH FUN. Have I mentioned how fun it was??? I could have just done that for an hour.
Right before tacking up. The angle makes her look way less rotund.
After we played with that in both directions, we moved on. Drilling Gem is never a good idea. She is wicked smart and once she learns something it is time to move on or she will get bored and find something else to amuse herself with. Typically, I don’t find humor in the same things she does.
Next was canter work though and I immediately lost all my zen and relaxation. Trainer saw the response in Gem and asked me what happened. I told her I got tense. She told me to relax.
Part of my canter issues comes from my own misunderstanding that canter = faster. Since I can go a million miles an hour at the trot, I don’t really want to go any faster in the canter. Trainer is working hard to break this thought process and for me to think of the canter as shifting to a new gear, but maintaining the same speed. It is helping…a bit.
All my prior work at getting Gem desensitized to my leg cue for canter has paid off though. She can be cued with the outside leg without completely losing her head now. We picked up the left lead and while we did canter and I didn’t pull her face off, we also completely lost any steering we had.
When Gem canters, she just goes wherever she darn well pleases, bulging out a shoulder here and her hindquarters there. Trainer told me to put my outside leg on her and prevent the bulging out, but when I did Gem went wildly careening at a million miles an hour. Or so it felt. Trainer understood my dilemma. Gem is hypersensitive to the leg and believes it means go faster at all times. We have come to terms with this at the walk and are beginning to understand it at the trot, but the canter is currently in the crapper. It did improve a bit and we went both right and left, but it is going to take a long time before it is pretty. Or rideable. We will get there.
The mare likes selfies as much as I do
And that was the first half of our lesson. I was so proud of Gem. She came ready to work and while she was still highly opinionated and her typical self, she was honest and tried hard for me when I did my part and rode correctly.
Trainer had a lot to say about Gem as well. This was only her second time seeing her in action. Her thoughts:
Gem is a super cute mover when she wants to be
She is really sensitive to my leg and we need to work on getting her to understand that I can touch her and it not mean forward
She has a massive canter stride. She was really impressed with how much ground the mare covers in her canter and mentioned it a dozen times during our canter work. Maybe that also plays into my canter issues.
Gem doesn’t like to be surprised by anything. It is up to me to give fair warning about a change like in a transition or direction to let her know what is coming up soon.
Gem is very in tune with me. If I’m tense, so is she. When I relax she will too. I have to be better at controlling my own self before I can expect her to do the same.
Gem likes being in charge. When I get firm about one aspect, say pace, she will try to take charge of another, say direction. This was most prevalent at the canter when she picked up the gait and lead I requested, but then decided she had all the say in where we went. And I let her because I get all flailing and forget how to ride when I canter.
Things I did well:
She didn’t correct my position at all. I did ride with less leg than in my prior lessons, but she soon learned why and we are compromising at the moment. She stated that my leg position was perfect for where Gem is at right now and will take time to be allowed to bring it back and around her without causing tension and anxiety.
My elbows were the best yet, still need work but I’m counting this as a win because she only had to tell me to bring them back half as much as before and the alterations I made were minimal versus massive.
I rode my mare off my seat. BIG HUGE IMPROVEMENT FOR US!!
I used circles correctly like I learned last time out. Gem actually bent around the circle and it helped to rebalance her.
Things to improve:
I need to begin to work on getting my seat completely independent from the rest of me. Currently its not so much.
Continue to improve in my transitions. Don’t throw her away going down and don’t run her into it going up.
Canter work. Lots and lots of canter work. Transition, speed, steering. All of it. One big thing she told me is to never let Gem canter from a bad trot. This sets up a bad canter and then I’m immediately having to correct it.
Keep Gem focused. She tended to get bored and look around for something to do. I have to keep her mind busy, but not overwhelmed. This is hard for me as I tend to either drill or let it slide.
One more day
One more time
One more sunset baby I’d be satisfied
But then again
I know what it would do
Leave me wishing still
For one more day with you
– Diamond Rio
Scrabble joined our family as a scraggly, sickly 6 month old barn kitten in September of 2004. We were stopping by a friend’s house a few weeks before our wedding which is why I remember it so clearly. He wandered out of her barn and right over to me purring loudly and meowing a hello. I snatched him into my arms and looked over at Dusty, then my fiancee, and told him that we were getting a cat. He could take him to the clinic and treat him then bring him to his house which would soon be our house. Dusty wasn’t too enthusiastic, but he really couldn’t say no three weeks before we were married and so Scrabble came to live with us. We named him Scrabble because we were playing the game a lot at the time.
We used to have a ping pong table. It was next to impossible to play with Scrabble. He made it interesting and more fun!
Scrabbie was a wonderful cat. Friendly to the point of being dog like, he always met me at the front door when I got home. For the last 13 years, he has been the first face I’ve seen when returning home. Whether I was just gone to the mail box or away for a month, he was equally happy to see me again.
He followed me everywhere. I can’t recall the last time I looked down and didn’t see him. Or didn’t have him curled up in my lap within 30 seconds of sitting down. He even entered the shower with me and stood patiently just outside the water stream getting sprayed until I was done. When I would be outside he would always been in the window looking out at me. If I went to the front, he would too.
Scrabble was friendly to everyone. He was never mean to any house guest, be it a person or animal and welcomed Echo, Bones and Einstein into our home with warmth. He loved everyone. He was the only cat to allow Wyatt to touch him and never held a grudge. He didn’t knock things over, pee outside the box or destroy the furniture. He was just a great guy to live with and was so easy going.
Above all else he was my cat. He tolerated Dusty because Scrabble liked everyone, but he always watched over me, sat with me, loved me. And I loved him back. He was the best cat I will likely ever have.
Always watching me. I was never out of his sight if he could help it
Dusty diagnosed him with kidney failure 2 1/2 years ago and gave him 6 months to live. He fought and fought and clung to live until he just couldn’t any more. One benefit of having a vet husband is that he can put him to rest at home without a scary car ride being the last thing he remembered. I held him close and hugged him as he slipped away.
He adored the cat tree and would sit up high watching everyone
I love you Scrabble. My heart is broken and my world a little less friendly without your bright face and big, round orange eyes keeping close tabs on me and making sure I am ok. I keep looking for you under my feet, around the corner and waiting for you to jump in my lao when I sit down. I miss you, but I am so glad I got to have youth me for nearly 13 years and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Rest easy, my big man. Say hello to Bones and Hero for me and I’ll see you again someday.
Teeth floating is a bit of a sensitive topic in my household. The hubby has very strong opinions on the subject which is odd since he does his best to have no opinions when it comes to the horses having long ago decided equine medicine was not his thing.
I have very strong opinions based on…nothing really but I can still have them.
We tend to go round and round on the subject and have come to the compromise of every other year to avoid my anxiety about being a bad horse mom yet taking his experience and education, which has taught him that the vast majority of horses are over floated thus resulting in senior horses with no teeth and no way to eat, into consideration. He has shown me numerous articles and has had his educated opinion substantiated by every single vet we have had out for the horses the last 7 years.
This just looks wrong. Poor Petey.
What this means in real life is that we don’t float our horse’s teeth very often. In fact, it has been three years since they were last attended to. I’m comfortable at every other year and felt three was pushing it.
In any event, we finally came to an agreement and the vet came out to do them. I was very worried that we would be yelled at and that their mouths would be full of waves, hooks and bad ulcerations.
Why hello there Gemmie. Feeling the good drugs, are you?
The reality? The vet said they looked fantastic and that they were happy to see us not floating any more often than every two years. Gem had some very minor hooks and Pete had two superficial ulcers just starting to form.
I was a happy owner until they added that they were both very fat and needed a diet. I knew Pete was fat. We have safely gotten about 100 lbs off him since we moved him from two barns ago. But Gem? I didn’t think she was that bad. Rose colored glasses and all.
I’m sure I will pay for this the next time I ride
I should have taken her off her competition feed when I stopped competing her last summer. It wasn’t such a big deal where we boarded last because there wasn’t really any grass. The Duo is out on a ton of grass now though and it is showing in thier expanding girths.
So Gem is now officially taken off her snickers bar equivalent competition feed until such a time as I amp up her training again. Now it’s kale: Triple Crown Lite with only 9.3% NSC to help offset the rich grass and 3 flakes of hay at night to keep them eating.
Waddling off into the sunset
She won’t be happy with the change, but it is for her own good. Once I start riding her more regularly again, hopefully later this month once things settle again at home and work, and the grass burns out in the summer heat she can have her feed back.
I’ve traveled a lot in my life both within and outside the US. I love to travel although I also love returning home. Anyone who is Type A could use a little travel in their life to learn to let go. So much is out of your control when you travel and if you don’t learn to loosen up a little, you’ll end up having a stroke.
Travelling alone is great. Nobody to worry about but yourself, you can get the prime territory everywhere you go. Taking a trip with your four year old son changes things.
The window seat no longer exists. Or rather it no longer exists without a big blonde head in the way. This is true on the airplane, trolley, busses and pretty much anywhere a view is possible.
You will spend only fleeting moments doing what you find interesting. The aviary, pretty vistas, bookshops and the like will all be looked at wistfully as you walk on by. Seriously the pleasure in getting to see or do what you want is completely overshadowed by the constant nagging of the bored toddler attached to you. The times you deem it worthwhile enough to still do will be seldom and carefully doled out.
On the other hand, be prepared to spend inordinate amounts of time looking at things that you have no interest in. The amphibian and reptile house, play grounds and candy stores will all become time vortexes.
No decent restaurant posts their kids menu online. Choosing a place to eat becomes a battle of finding food you want to spend your vacation money on while not wasting it with things your toddler won’t eat. Researching online is useless as most of the better places don’t post the kid options. This is likely in an attempt to discourage families from dining, but you have to eat somewhere. When I travel, I try my best to avoid any restaurant I can eat at at home which means trying new things and places.
Everything is more expensive. Keeping the kiddo entertained costs money. He isn’t appeased by a day sitting reading a book and waking around town looking at buildings isn’t going to last for long. Thankfully the park and beach are free, so we only actually bought entry to the zoo and amusement park.
Tired is no longer a strong enough adjective. Exhausted is better, but still falls short of how bone achingly worn out you become not only being out and about, but having to carry the toddler and all the gear that goes along with him. Relaxing, taking a nap and zoning out in the hotel to TV are things you only can dream about.
If you think you have packed enough, you are wrong. Traveling with a small suitcase and a carry on used to be sufficient for a week long excursion. Not any more. Not only did the kiddo have his on suitcase, but he took up my entire carry on bag and part of my suitcase as well. For as small as they are, they sure do require a lot of stuff.
You will go home and thank your parents. Remember when your mom and dad took you to an amusement park and watched while you rode the same ride 30 times in a row? Back before there were smartphones and Facebook? Yeah, well they were really excited and filled with joy to see how happy you were the first 6 times. After that? They were bored. Very, very bored. Thank them. Thank them a lot.
But you know what else I learned on my first trip as a mom?
It was more fun, I smiled bigger and felt happier and more filled with joy watching Wyatt explore the city, ride the same ride 30 times in a row and say hello to a Komodo Dragon than I’ve had out there on my own.
Having a kid means that the world no longer revolves around you. It isn’t about you any more. It’s a about them. It’s about opening their eyes to the world and the people/animals/plants that inhabit it. It doesn’t matter if I get a window seat because watching his amazement at being above the clouds is so much better. The aviary? It will still exist once he is grown and showing his own kids the world. For now, I’m happy to watch the light dance in his eyes as he spies a bright blue frog behind the glass.
All my animals are alive and as well as they were before I left which is fantastic. Unfortunately that isn’t the end of the story.
When M came over to meet everyone I mentioned that while the entire property is fenced that there are two side that are barbed wire. Einstein has run under it, cutting his head badly in the process, and has been found on the busy road much to our annoyance. He hasn’t done it in over a month but the fact is that he could. I told her that his harness and leash would be on the kitchen table in case she felt safer putting him on it. He has a great recall which is part of the problem. If you call him over when he crosses the street he will come immediately – right through traffic. It’s the leaving when not being paid attention to that is the problem.
As we were finishing up her mother called in a panic. Her dog had run away and was no where to be found. We hastily said goodbye so she could go help. Apparently it wasn’t uncommon as she didn’t seem overly surprised that her dog had gotten away.
I received a text on day one asking if she could bring her dog over to play. Einstein loves to play and would be missing his day care day, so I agreed. Later that day she texted that her dog had ducked under the barbed wire and nearly got hit by a car on the road. She was losing her off leash privileges. Thankfully Einstein didn’t follow.
All was then quiet except for some pictures she sent me and a text asking if she could have friends over for a fire in the back yard fire pit.
That is until the last day.
When we got off the plane in Texas and I turned my phone off airplane mode I got blasted with texts. Her dog had been off leash again and ran out in the road and was hit by a car. She was leaving the house immediately and had not fed or cleaned anything up.
I texted her that I understood and hoped it was only minor.
By the time we got on the next flight and home she had returned to strip the bed and finish things up and her dog was being stabilized and prepared for surgery.
Sadly, her dog passed away on Tuesday.
It breaks my heart. She loved that dog. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 and all that but it doesn’t change the ending and only makes the loss that much worse for her. She was her best friend and now she is gone.
For my part I feel partly responsible although I know it wasn’t my fault. I should have said no when she asked to bring her over. In the future, I’ll make it a rule that no personal animals are allowed on my property when I’m away. I know. It should have been that way any way.
Hug your fur babies close. Make responsible choices at all times. Safety before all else. They are with us for such a short time and their entire lives are lessons to be learned. M is heartbroken and it will take a long time for her to heal. Hugs to her and rest easy puppy.
Early morning reading material. At least they served a good breakfast along with it.The late afternoon was light so I met up with the boys at the trolley then caught a bus to Pacific Beach. I was optimistic and changed into my bathing suit.The Atlantic along the coast of SC was 86F last June when we went to the beach. It was deliciously warm and I spent the entire day in the water. I was a bit worried when I was full of goosebumps just walking to the waters edge that things would be very different here and so early in the year.That little running shadow is Wyatt. One foot in the water and I learned my lesson. The Pacific is ice cold as water feeds into it from Alaska. No way was I going in. But the scenery was gorgeous, the waves large and the kiddo was having a blast. No complaints from me.After the beach we walked over to a Denny’s restaurant for dinner. Wyatt snuggled up on Dusty and told us he wanted to go home. He was homesick and missed his guinea pig.When we got off the bus at the beach there was a custom ice cream sandwich shop. The line for it was halfway down the block. I told Dusty I wanted to go after dinner. After all, my diet had been blown long before on this trip. Why not finish it off? The place did not disappoint. Everything was custom order from the cookies or brownies to the ice cream flavor and added toppings. It did not dissappoint.We were right in L’s neighborhood and I had texted her that we were at the beach. She was unable to meet us there but she and her SO met up with us at dinner and then for ice cream after. I didn’t completely fail this time and got a picture. Well, technically she took it but it was on my phone, so that counts for something! I left wishing we lived closer. They are great people and a lot of fun. Her SO has some competition though. During ice cream Wyatt looked over at L and said “I can show you my bedroom” 4 is a little too young for pick up lines!!
After that it was time to grab the bus then the trolley and pack up. Given a choice I always pick the earliest flight and this time was no exception. Another 6 am flight for us meant a 3:30 am wake up. Wyatt was ready to head home which was a relief. I was a little concerned there would be some tantrums involved in the leaving process.
All in all it was an amazing trip. I hadn’t been on a real vacation in 5 years when we went to Rolex for my 30th birthday. This trip was mixed with work which was the only way I could convince myself to take the time off. It was so nice to travel and explore once again.
Everyone woke up tired this morning but at least the clock said 6 am which was the latest to date. The conference schedule was heavier in the morning and late afternoon, but had a big break in the late morning/early afternoon which allowed for some family time.
Breakfast was no where near as good today as yesterday which was a bummer. The talk was equally as poor which made the early hour seem even more cruel.Turns out today was also opening day for the Padres. They were playing the Giants. I announced to Wyatt that they were playing the New York Giants which garnered odd looks from everyone near me. Turns out it was the San Francisco Giants. Seriously? Come up with a more original name if you don’t want to be mistaken.Wyatt came on this trip with three goals: go to the zoo, play in the ocean and ride a roller coaster. We checked off the others already so today was off to Belmont Park. He was too small for the roller coaster, but there were other rides he could have fun onBelmont Park was a total flashback in time. Small community park teeming with teenagers and early college students on dates and causing minor trouble. Small kids enjoying the rides and fair food.No trip to the amusement park is without overly priced cotton candy. Wyatt spied it immediately upon entering and choked downHe was not impressed with the dinky train ride.The race car ride which in my hometown amusement park was called the whip was a big hit. It went slow on the long sides and then sped around the turns.He laughed and laughed going around the turns. He was pretending to be Gizmo from the Gremlins movie at the end when he drives the pink car and kills StripeWatching his little face light up with glee made my day. He was having so much fun that I didn’t mind him riding it again and again.The carousel was another big hit although he was super serious the entire rideThis is a kids version of the popular tower of terror type ride. He was happy to get on it but had no real clue what it was going to do. He looked so tiny in the seat.It went up and he looked an it scared for the moment it stayed still. When it dropped he laughed so loud it rang throughout the park. The ride went up and down a dozen times and he was giggling I much he could barely breatheIt’s a good thing I adore rollercoasters and thrill rides. This guy is going to be my partner in crime. Dusty hates them so he will be the old we then holding the drinks and taking pictures.The last ride he was big enough to ride was a version of bumper cars. I was really worried he wouldn’t be able to work it cuz you had to move the shifters forward and back and if you did one more than the other you’d go in a circle. He surprised the crap out of me by rocking it. He thought it was hilarious to hit others and could make that thing go anywhere he wanted it toUnfortunately the afternoon came to and end I needed to get back for more lectures on wound care. Wyatt and Dusty took a nap while I learned about all the wonderful new mandates that the government is putting on doctors next year such as reported Yelp reviews to determine your reimbursement. My blood pressure was through the roof by the end of it. Then the next lecture was on a new drug coming out that will create the physiologic responses that exercise does without having to you know exert yourself. The human race never ceases to amaze me.Petco Park was breaking at the seems with opening day. The Padres ended up winning 7-6So the night before I may have had a temper tantrum when I got done with lectures and Dusty had me make all the dinner plans after making all their day time plans for them as well. I’m the social planner for our family and always have been. Typically I don’t mind but when I’m tired and hungry it would be nice if he just said “we are going here and this is how we will get there” instead of making me do it. When I got done today Dusty informed me he had made reservations. I didn’t know it was at Flemings.One look at the menu prices and I needed a glass of wine to be able to enjoy it without having an aneurysm. The wine was fantabulous. I’m not a big alcohol drinker but when I do enjoy of good Chardonnay Sauvignon. This was the best I had ever had. Smooth and full bodied. It went right to my head and by the time it was 3/4 gone my nose was numb.Since Dusty and I got special drinks, Wyatt got one too. This was actually really good.Dinner was amazing. Simply amazing.We ended it with a stamp at Ghirardelli for ice cream. The walk back was littered with all the people coming out of the game. I missed the nearly empty streets from the week days as it made the city seem nearly private.
The Roaming Rider 