Raining & Pouring

 …is what it did all day Friday, as “everything else” rains down upon me like the wrath of God.

On Thursday I had my consultation/tedious testing session with Dr Crouse of the Head Trauma Center. When I began recounting to her “all that’s gone down” these past couple of years, she seemed truly surprised & sympathetic (yeah I know as a mental health professional that’s kinda her job!) - it was almost like a mini-counseling session:

Seriously injured in car wreck, exposed to Covid/lingering long Covid, forced off my property by eminent domain, the stress of relocation, ongoing nonsense of the never-ending remodeling project, parent in declining health while having to take over those reins**, peppered with what seems like “above average” losses of friends, family members, clients & other acquaintances… And those are just the highlights; I didn’t even delve into the distant husband, lopsided friendships or the slow tedious severance of my son’s umbilicus.

Zach finished up his finals in one hideous marathon session last Monday, but Tuesday morning he took Victoria to the ER for what turned out to be “tamale poisoning”. (even her grandma questioned her: “If it didn’t taste right, why did you keep on eating it?!?) Then poor Adela (V’s grandma) fell & broke her hip Thursday, so that was another long day at Medical City, awaiting her surgery Thursday night. I drove over there Thurs afternoon so Z & I could go retrieve her car. Then Z was felled by the mysterious GI bug yesterday - while I preach biosecurity to him all the time, I suspect V passed this contagion along. Urgh!

** I called out a mobile notary to sign off on new Durable POA forms for my mom since this is what her financial advisor claimed to be lacking (I thought we’d signed all that years ago, when she & Dad added me onto all their accounts) - now it should only be another “10-20 days” before everything is approved 

Perhaps there is a dim light at the end of my tunnel that is NOT an oncoming train! I’ll just have to keep the wolves away from my door for a bit longer…

So even though it’s a beautiful, clear, crisp sunny day today, I don’t think I’ll be able to work in a ride - everything’s a sloppy muddy mess & Sam has hauled off for a rider’s biomechanics seminar N of the Metroplex. Silas no longer flinches when I walk up to pet him, so I’ll count that as our “groundwork win”!

“You don’t get the pint, Woodrow. I’ve walked the earth in my pride all these years. If that’s lost, then let the rest be lost with it. There’s certain things my vanity won’t abide.”

I dug out my dog-eared copy of “Lonesome Dove” last night, just to skim some highlights (only a few, or I’d have been up all night ;-)  This one, 2 pages after the death of Augustus, also caught my eye:

“Next time you come, why don’t you just catch a grizzly bear & ride him in?” Gill said. “I’d rather stable a grizzly than this mare.”

“…why would you keep a creature like that?”

“Because I like to be horseback when I’m horseback” Call said.

Watch Val grin foolishly as I recall my parade of fabulous horseflesh: from my beautiful Bucky-boy to Shetan, Sahara-bug, Zacc-the-horse, Wynk, Quig, Champers, Baraq, Scarlotta and now Silas. (& everyone else I’m typing too fast to mention) I’ve been incredibly fortunate.