Why is it that we so often fail to learn the lessons life attempts to teache us? My youngest gets mad at me with alarming frequency. She turns her “angry eyes” on me. Those eyes are so earnest, so full of emotion and so cute that the next thing to happen is I laugh. I don’t mean too, it’s just that she is so darn cute that I can’t help myself. Even though I know what happens next. Well, angry eyes plus laughter makes her really mad and tears spring to the angry eyes, she jumps up and storms off to her room and closes her door with authority. After a while she calms down and comes out of her room to scold me for laughing. I promise not to laugh again and guess what. I fail spectacularly.
Here is the set up. We are on our way to have dinner with the in-laws. We are driving along the north side of a local lake that is surrounded by open space that is open to horses. Without malice of fore thought, I say to The Instigator (oldest child), “We should take the horses up here and ride!” Mouth shuts down and brain engages. Tira-Toes is taking riding lessons, her allergy shots are working and she is starting to really enjoy riding. I know that she would would like to ride horses with me more often and I feel like she is left out of a lot of things because we don't have enough horses. Man, I would really like to include her this emerging horse culture at our house.
Brain dies. Mouth re-engages and the following words pour out. “Do we need another horse… Or two?” Immediately from the back seat is joyful outburst of, “YES!!” with fist pumping. Oh-oh. They heard me. Those words actually left my mouth. It gets worse. I just happen to know that my trainers brother is selling a horse he has been training. The horse is well trained and his asking price is a real bargain giving the training it has on it. It is a ten year old gelding. And it is a paint. Dang! They heard that too! They are really starting to get excited now. Why can't I get my mouth to stop moving?!
But I have a trump card, my bride. My wonderful bride who is ambivalent about horses will save me. She will talk sense to me and the girls. She will be sane. She betrayed me! From the seat next to me I hear my lovely, rational, sane bride say, “That is a good idea.” What! Please tell me she didn't just say that. She thinks for a minute and says that she thinks we only need one extra horse because she doesn’t think she would ride that much due to her allergies. [Side bar – I let my bride read this before posting only to see her smile from ear to ear. She “casually” mentioned that if she can change her meds around a bit, she too can start allergy shots and then she WILL need (note need, not want) her own horse.]
So a quick call to the trainer to verify the horse is for sale and what the asking price is. I tell her what is going on and she chuckles. She proceeds to tell me that something very similar happened to her when she was young. They got one horse. She won a horse through Westernaires. They got another horse. They now have ten horses, three Shetland Ponies and three calves. I am doomed.
It reminds me of a joke: A guy walks into a bar, orders a beer and starts to cry. The barkeep brings the beer and asks why the guy why he is crying. The guy says that he became a millionaire today. Well, the barkeep is surprised. The barkeep figures that becoming a millionaire would be reason to celebrate. The guy looks at the bar keep, wipes a tear from his eye and says, “I used to be a billionaire but then my wife and daughters discovered horses.” I am so doomed.
So this Friday I may take the day off work and we’ll go ride horses and figure out if a third horse is a good idea (it’s not and at the same time it is). Odds are I will lose this and we will end up with three horses. Now if I have three horses and we want to take them riding in the fore mentioned open space I need to be able to transport three horses. I have a two horse trailer. I am so, SO doomed.
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