Hop on. The ride is about to begin.

“And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun.  Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.  You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.  Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they’re darked.  A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!  Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?  How much can you lose? How much can you win?”

-          The Great Dr. Seuss

If you haven’t read Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss, you must.  It’s so good, that I actually received two copies for graduation and I kept them both.  Apparently I need to read them more often.  I’ve been in a Dr. Seuss class slump.   January’s hurry-up and wait chaos was wreaking havoc on my brain.  I was grouchy and listfull.  Plus, I was having a terrible time deciding whether it was worthwhile to haul a couple of hours to a horse show for two classes (budget/fitness dictated).  Never before have I turned down a chance to show, but I seriously considered it.

Somehow I managed to set my alarm, drag myself out of bed, clean out the stalls and make sure the horses were fed.  I loaded up the trailer, gave packing a lunch a quick thought, said good-bye to my husband, then the horse was caught.  We headed down the road, still ambivalent in our cares, with cross-winds and fog, venturing out, we dared.

My slumpy mood followed us all the way to the show grounds.  It wasn’t until after I opened the barn door and was greeted by a “Melinda!” from my coach that my feet began to quit dragging.  It’s amazing what a cheery welcome can do for your mood.  With wonderful weather, competitors from all over shed their blankets and came to play at the show.  That made things move a bit slowly, but I didn’t care.  I got to play catch up with old friends.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but talking things out gave me the kick in the pants I needed.

I don’t want to spoil your read of Oh the Places You’ll Go by quoting the entire work, though it’s tempting.  Let’s just say, in talking with friends I realized, I’ve been in “The Waiting Place.”  It isn’t pretty.  But somehow I found the motivation to get moving.  The show was wonderful.  We made some excellent strides of improvement and now confidence to continue those improvements on my own has returned.  I’d love to take regular lessons again, but right now I’m in a place where I’ve got to be self-reliant.  I don’t like it.  It’s scary, but if I just keep going, Dr. Seuss promises “98 and ¾ percent guaranteed” we’ll make it through.

                "You're off to Great Places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So…get on your way!”

What about you?  Are you where you want to be?  Are you stuck in a Lurch; lost in a Slump; waiting, just waiting; playing a game you can’t win?  Or are you moving mountains?  Thanks, Dr. Seuss, for a Fresh Perspective and for un-slumping my behind!

                My helmet cam’s taping.  Time for some perks.  My ground poles are waiting.  My grid building in the works…

Roller Coasters

Roller Coasters.

You either like them, or you couldn’t be paid enough to strap in.  The ups and downs bring shrieks of joy or screams of terror.  The twists and turns charge you with adrenalin or churn up your gut.  Roller coasters just weren’t made for everyone.

Me, I could take ‘em or leave ‘em.  I’m not crazy about heights, so I generally keep my eyes closed.  I will  admit that there is something thrilling about cruising around the track at a break neck speed.  So, why am I writing about roller coasters in mid January?  I’m not really sure.  Gives you a lot of confidence, huh?

There have been so many things running through my head lately and I’ve had so little time to digest them that I feel a bit like a crazy scientist is test driving a roller coaster through my brain.

January started with two three day weekends in a row.  Absolutely unheard of.  In fact, I can count the number of times I had three days off in a row last year on one finger.  Those two weekends were heavenly and we made a lot of progress on getting the horses settled in at home and getting the daily chores running smoothly. 

Throwing a curve ball in the mix, we decided to join my family in Colorado for a bit more R&R and some snowboarding too.  We live in the middle of nowhere, so to abandon the homestead, we’ve got to pack up the cats, the dog and the horses and move them to facilities where their standard of care can be maintained while we’re gone.  I made calls and packed single servings of feed.  We packed the blanket boxes and counted needles for the feline’s insulin injections.  By the time “vacation” rolled around, we were exhausted.  Hoping to recuperate before returning home and reversing the packing process, we set off to Colorado. 

A day late and several dollars short we arrived.  Seems a Winter Weather Advisory went into affect the morning we approached the mountains.  Cooper is a trooper, but doesn’t handle sheet ice well.  Actually, few vehicles on I-70 do, so we spent 2.5 hours going .2 miles.  They closed the interstate down and turned us all around informing us we could seek refuge in Denver.  The snowboarding was good though.  Great weather, decent, if not a bit lacking, snow, good times with the family.  After two days, we were back in the car, back on the road, back in a Winter Weather Advisory.

Did I mention, while on vacation, we found out we’d lost a Pony Club friend.  While not a close friend, her untimely death at 20 shook me a bit.  She had a passion for horses, a seven month old baby, and a constant smile.  I’m not sure why it bothered me so.  Normally I handle that kind of thing pretty well, but it rattled my confidence a bit and is still lingering in the back of my brain.

We had some good luck in the form of a broken brake line when we went to pick up the horses.  “Good luck?” you say.  Yep, good luck.  As we pulled forward after hooking up to the trailer, the brakes went out.  The horses weren’t loaded yet and we weren’t pointed downhill. Good timing.  While we were rolling around on the ground under the truck fixing the brake line, we discovered a large bulge in a rear tire on the truck.  Changing to the spare was added to the list of “do immediately.”  Another stroke of good timing. 

January is usually when I plan out my show schedule for the coming year.  I make lists of exercises to work on and pour over every minute of the George Morris Clinic on the USEF Network during my lunch breaks at work.  I like cuddling up with a good book on horsemanship and riding technique.  This January hasn’t gone as planned.  I found a book, haven’t had time to read.  I visited the USEF website, but haven’t had time to watch more than 30 minutes.  Instead I’m corralling people and troubleshooting problems.  It’s frustrating.  Kind of like getting the itch to ride a roller coaster in December.

I had the opportunity to go to a small hunter/jumper show last weekend.  Normally, I’d be there in a heartbeat, but I’d been having second thoughts.  Not that I was getting cold feet (okay 8 lows, mean they are a little cold), but more I’m getting tired feet.  I knew once I got there, I’d have a good time, learn some things, and end up feeling refreshed, but the motivation was just not there.  I did end up dragging myself out of bed, but that’s a different story.  For now, strap-in, the ride is about to begin.