Dreamin' of Home

Small town America ain't bad, but it isn't home. Mark and I walk everyday, miles and miles in between helping my parents and we are enjoying the FLAT ground. Flat ground seems novel, new to us. Where did the incline go? We decided to go over an overpass yesterday, to add a little bit of a hill climb, but it really was a pitifully small hill. We didn't even feel a burn. We feel pretty powerful down here. With walking anyway.

I never thought I could do the things that I am doing in caring for my dying dad. Neither one of us thought we could do this, but the grace of God is sufficient. We have found that it really is true that you don't get what you need until you need it, so there really is no need to worry about the future, just deal with today. It says that somewhere in the Bible and I have read it many times, but I never lived it until now. Powerful stuff we are learning.

I found this quote attributed to Buddha and it says basically the same thing:
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

We are trying to do this daily, but I do dream of home. So I open up my computer and look at photos. I have a lot of photos and I find a whole set of them that I really should post about.

Right before I left I reconnected with my maid of honor from my wedding; my childhood sidekick, riding partner and best friend. We had lost contact for almost 30 years. She ran away from our hometown as fast as she could and I burrowed in to raise my family. Facebook brought us back together and we discovered we lived only a few hours apart. A weekend at the ranch was planned and we had a great time . She hadn't ridden horses in years and was worried she had forgotten how. Ha. Never.

Belle came right up to her when she arrived. Love at first sight. (photo by my friend)

We rode under a beautiful sky and her partner Bob joined us.

We rode and rode. And went on photography expeditions. Photography is her passion.She took a lot of beautiful sunset shots and scenery and, of course, of horses. She took this following photo of Stormy that brought about Stormy's sale on Craigslist.I have had Stormy on craiglist many times without too much interest. But now Stormy is living the good life down on the flats, by the beach. And with her arthritic knees it is the perfect place to be. She has a 3 acre pasture and a 3 horse stall. Stormy who usually is quite alpha with the other horses has a pony as her pasture friend and she has taken on the mothering role. Happy trails for Stormy and all brought about by my friend's great photos. Thanks T for being a friend then and now.

Until next time,

Enjoy today.