Big Changes Are A Commin'

Sometimes, if you are patient and open enough, The Universe gives you what you need just when you  need it the most.

Things have been odd around here. I've been in a major horse slump. The 40 minute drive has sucked my motivation away and now that it is dark before I get out of work, and there are no lights at the barn, I am limited to weekends only. Dusty has been working a lot of extra shifts at the emergency clinic on the weekends to help with some bills and get some Christmas money stored up, so even my weekend access has been severely limited. I did squeak in a really fun second ride with Zoe a few weekends ago on the only day it has rained in 3 months, but all that did was solidify the fact that all the driving was sucking the fun right out of riding.

Money has been too tight to afford the hunter paces this year as well, so I haven't even been making those.

With Wyatt getting to such an amazingly fun and interactive age, I just don't want to spend 4 hours driving to ride for 2. The benefit doesn't out weight my loss.

So I've been neglectful of the bay mare and I feel guilty for that, but then I feel guilty for the time spent away riding and then add on to it having a shitastic ride and well....you get the hamster wheel that has been occurring.

But that is all about to change!!!

Through a bunch of perfectly timed events that I won't get into right now, but may expand upon at a later date, I found myself staring at a small red sign with the words FOR RENT hand printed across it sitting in front of a lush green pasture and small brick house.

I could barely contain my excitement as I dialed the number for more information. Unfortunately, it was a weekend and all I got was a machine on which I left a probably overly excited and breathy message. I then hit up google to find out that the house was for rent, pets were allowed and there was no mention of pasture use.

Over the course of the next 3 weeks, Dusty and I would look at the property once on our own and again with the home owner/next door neighbor and find out the details of the house and property. Turns out it is 16 acres but the back part already has an occupant in it (the owner's horse) and is really overgrown. The front was being used as hay for some cows down the road and was initially not available for use, but after spending some time with us and talking details she agreed to allow us to use it for our horses.

I was keeping it all pretty quiet until we actually signed the lease. I'm not typically superstitious, but I really didn't want anything to jinx it or have to explain why things didn't work out to anyone. We signed the lease today and I'm still shaking with excitement.

As of January 15, 2017, Gem and Pete will be coming home with us!!!!!! It has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember and more solidified after getting Gem nearly 7 years ago. We flirted with it for a year in WI when we rented a house on a boarding facility, but we weren't responsible for their care at all. Now they will be out front. I can sit on the lovely front porch and watch them graze, nap, or more likely, run away from me. I can see Gem, not twice a month, but twice a day - everyday.

When I met Zoe to show her the Clemson trails, I had to leave my house at 5 am to make it to the trail head for 9 am and then didn't get back home until nearly 4 pm even though we completed the 9 mile loop in 1 hour 20 minutes. That was a full 11 hours away from home for not even 90 minutes of ride time! It really took all the wind out of my riding sails.

But now??? Come January, if I want to meet Zoe at Clemson at 9 am I will have to leave my house at 8 am. Three hours later!!! And I will return 3 hours earlier given the same ride time. I AM SO INSANELY EXCITED RIGHT NOW!!!

I love riding, but I also just plain love being around Gem. I am really looking forward to the new challenges that keeping her at home will bring (currently it is finding good quality hay with the drought) and being able to watch her daily life to learn even more about her preferences and personality. Since Pete is basically retired it will also give us a chance to be with him more often and give him more attention.

This move also keeps up our tradition. Since getting married dn 2004, the only time we lived in one place for more than 2 years was when I went to podiatry school. While we lived in the same house all 4 years, my last year was spent all over the country on internships (I lived in 5 different states and visited many more cities) so really it was only like being there for 3. Since then we haven't made it over 2 years in any one house. At least this time we are staying in both the same mailing city and zip code.

Get ready to be flooded with Gemmie and Pete pictures :)

But first we have to figure out how to downsize from a 4 bed/3 bath 3000 sq ft monster house to a 2 bed/2 bath 1500 sq foot normal sized house. Anyone want to buy some junk? ;)