Ready to Ride!

What is most important to you?  What are you willing to die for? What are the things that you ache without? The people you long for when they are not there? Do you live your life in a way that shows these people or things are important to you?

If you say God is the most important thing to you, you should be spending time in His Word, learning about him and how he wants you to live. I'll give you a hint: it's all about loving people, especially those we don't think deserve it, because they are the ones who need it the most.

If you say your family is the most important thing to you, you should be spending time with them interacting with them. Being in the same room but concentrating on something else doesn't count. Spending your life at the office to provide a big house that you're not at with them doesn't count. And men, hear me on this: your wife does NOT need a big house. She needs a relationship with her husband! Your kids do NOT need more toys. They need a father! (I realize that women do this too but men tend to be more goal/work oriented)

I am assuming that most people put these and maybe friends first on the list of things that are important to them if asked. They even say they would die for them; but are they Living for them? Fighting for them? People don't say career or success is the most important thing to them. They just live like it.

Now, assuming that you are spending the time to show God and your family where they rank in your life, what's next on your list? For me it is riding horses. It has been my source of joy (aside from God and family) for 30 years now. When I haven't ridden in awhile, it's almost physically painful to watch someone else ride or even to go feed my horses, knowing I will not ride them that day either. I ache inside for it, almost like I do for Mike when he's out of town.

The funny thing is that's supposed to be my job but I enjoy it so much it seems like just fun. When I get a chance to ride, I start thinking of all of the things in the house and around the farm that need to be done and I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I'm not keeping up with all of the other stuff because I want to go have fun. Never mind that I have two horses that I need to finish training so that I can sell them because that's supposed to be my job. More often than not I give in to the guilt and go do something that feels more like work. And the horses get left out in the pasture.

Now I'm sure they don't mind hanging out with their buddies, playing and eating hay, but if I don't work with them, the young ones will never be trained and the older ones will start getting out of practice (and patience with my students). They will not be useful to anybody. And if I am not using them, why should I have them?

So, along with my commitment to take more time just to be "mom" and play with my kids (which has helped J alot), I am also making a commitment to take the time to really do my job as a horse owner and trainer and Ride these magnificent animals I have the priviledge of owning.

To make the time to do this, I am going to have to become better organized and a better manager of the time I have. One of the things I have done this year is to step down as the leader for some of J's activities. I will still be there of course, but now I can use that time for planning. I believe this will also help J because now I can just cheer for him and be a helper in the background instead of being the one who is telling him what to do all of the time but that's a side note.

The other thing I really need to be better about is planning. I have done a pretty good job of keeping track of our schedules but would often lose little things like what to make for dinner. If I plan out enough of those little things, I think I will be amazed at the time that saves. Plus, if I plan out my schedule, I can schedule in riding rather than wondering if I have time to between other tasks. If I know there is time for it, I think I will feel less guilty. I'll feel even better if I know I am taking care of all of those other things that need to be done, even if they aren't going to be done today.

So, tomorrow I am going to wake up, spend some time with my God (He Is first, after all), cuddle with my kids and kiss my husband before we leave for work & school and then get to work. It's going to be rainy, so the riding won't start then, but I can work on some of those guilt inducing projects so that when the sun comes back out, I will be ready to Ride!

Update: I have to brag on My Mr. for a minute. When he came out of his office last night, I was writing this post and he could tell I was emotional. He came and sat with me and read it. His next concern was my note to husbands at the beginning. He wanted to make sure that we didn't feel like he was putting work before us. To be fair, that is something we have struggled with in the past because he does work a lot. However, he has since made a noticeable and concentrated effort to be available and involved, which has done wonders for our whole family. When he finished the post, his response was "Don't worry about me and the house. Go ride. It's what you love to do. I knew that when I married you." This from the man who bought me my first horse (after 18 years of riding). Could he be any more supportive? I am so blessed to have him as the person I get to spend my life with!