Two New Things

It’s been an interesting week! On Tuesday I went to the rec center for a class in something called kettlebells. I’m not sure what I was expecting. I knew it had to do with weights, but when I got there I was completely surprised. It turns out a kettlebell is a little round ball with a handle on it that is much heavier than it looks.

The instructor was this really nice, quiet guy named Travis. There were three other women in the class, two a little older than me and one quite a bit younger. The young one is called Madison and she might be an assistant instructor; she helped the teacher demonstrate things a few times.

I was surprised the weights class was all women and I also didn’t expect it to be that small, but both Travis and Madison were enthusiastic. Travis is clearly way stronger than I could ever be in my life, but I chatted with Madison for a little while after class and she told me she’s only been lifting weights for a short time. That is encouraging. She said she could tell a difference in her core strength only a few weeks into the class. She also has very nice, toned arms. I wouldn’t mind it if mine looked like hers at all!

Today I rode Moose for the first time in a lesson setting. I was a little sore from the weights class, so that wasn’t helping, and actually I have to say I had a lot more trouble with him than I expected. He wasn’t bad about anything, he just seemed like he wasn’t very willing. Taylor had to pay a lot more attention than usual and explain a few new techniques on getting a horse to do what you want. I wanted to give up in the middle, but by the end we were walking and trotting around. I was surprised Taylor wasn’t mad at me for being so sloppy, but after the lesson she actually went out of her way to tell me I’d handled everything well, and to explain that horses are always unsettled by a move. They lose all their friends, their home, and the people they know, yet we expect them to jump right in and continue to perform just as well as they did before. She said horses form deep emotional bonds with other horses and people, so poor Moose is going to be a little down and distracted for a few weeks. I hadn’t ever thought about it that way before. I made sure to tell him what a good job he’d done while I was grooming him. Hopefully next week he’ll be a little more settled in.

I'm a Share-Boarder!

Casey bought a horse today, and I’m going to be borrowing that horse from him for two days a week for the foreseeable future! Horse shopping was harder than I thought. I’m glad we had Taylor to recommend a few because otherwise we’d have been lost.

We test rode three horses. All three were fine, really, but the second one was sluggish and the third one spooked when I was riding. I know that can happen to any horse, but I almost fell off and after that Casey wanted the first one. I liked that one the best anyway, so it was fine with me.

The horse is a 12 year old gelding. According to his papers he is a Paint, but he doesn’t have much white. Taylor explained this is because Paint is a breed, whereas pinto is a color. I’m not sure I fully understand, but the horse is brown with a black mane and tail. He has one white splotch on the belly, four tall white socks, and a whole white face. Taylor calls this a bald face which seems like an unfortunate term. One of his eyes is about 1/4 blue, which is neat.

Assuming the horse passes his vet check, he will be delivered to Taylor’s this weekend! For the moment he is called Moose, but Casey is going to let Becca give it a new name if she wants.

Will Wonders Never Cease?

Last night I go the strangest call from Casey. He said he’s thinking about buying a horse for his younger daughter. I said I hadn’t realized she rode. He said she doesn’t! But she wants to. Then he told me about this whole conversation he had with Taylor about leasing and share-boarding, and asked my opinion.

I was at least able to explain about Chip, and how he’s not Taylor’s but she uses him to give lessons. I also said I could stop taking lessons for the summer and Becca could have my slot on Chip, but Casey said he wouldn’t consider letting me do that. I have been talking a lot lately about much I love riding. I even told him last week that I was going to ask Taylor about having two lessons a week instead of one. Convincing him I wouldn’t mind taking the summer off certainly wasn’t going to work.

The news Chip has a full schedule means my plans are foiled as well, so before long I had jumped to what seemed quite a logical conclusion at the moment but now seems insane. I said maybe I could do a share-board with him. He could buy Becca a horse, board it at Taylor’s, and I would take lessons on it twice a week. Becca could then ride five times a week and everyone would get what they wanted.

Except Casey would have to buy a horse, of course! And that leaves the question of what to do with it after the summer. Maybe he could work out a similar deal with Taylor as the one that she’s got going on Chip.

What a surprising phone call! Now I’m both excited and nervous. I feel like I shouldn’t be considering throwing money away on something as silly as a share-board, considering I don’t actually have a real job. But on the other hand we got that payment from my ex and in theory a check will now be coming in every month. I’ve also got the income from the the paper and turnpostmom.com. If that continues to grow at a steady rate that will amount to a livable wage by the end of the summer. Maybe it wouldn’t be completely irresponsible?

Busy Spring

I have been so busy! I write write write all the time but I always need to write more! But I am not complaining. I love writing. My new life makes me happy in so many ways, but I am still adjusting to the idea that I am probably always going to feel like I have work to do.

On Thursday I had my lesson with Taylor. It’s not like we live in a big city, but I still feel so different out there away from everything. I feel like I have room to breathe and think. But my lesson was only ok. We are working on loping now and Taylor does not like my posture. She keeps telling me not to bounce in the saddle. I am trying but I swear it’s physically impossible not to! After the lesson I asked her what I am doing wrong. I should have known better than to open that door. Taylor doesn’t pad the truth. She didn’t even hesitate. She said, “The biggest problem with your posture at this point is lack of physical strength.” I told her I run every day. She said running great, but it doesn’t do much for the core. She recommended Pilates or work with weights. Seriously? I’m supposed to start lifting weights just so I can ride a horse?

But the thing about Taylor is she makes you want to be ride well. Driving away from the barn, I had decided I don’t have time for more in my life and if I bounce a little at the lope, so what? But there is a rec center right on my way home from Taylor’s. Before I knew it I had stopped in and asked for information about the classes they offer. The girl at the desk gave me a printout. They have Pilates and Yoga and also some weight classes that look interesting. So, maybe I will try a few and see if I like any of them.

This weekend I spent tons of time working on Casey’s house. I’m going to spread everything out a little so it doesn’t all go up on turnpostmom.com at once. But stay tuned for pictures!

Projects!

I’m just back from Casey’s. I went over to take a look at his house. He’s got his girls coming up for the summer and wants to spruce things up a bit before they arrive. I hadn’t realized his house has three bedrooms. The two extras are really pretty tiny, but that is ok. At their age I’m sure the girls would rather have their own small rooms rather than share a big one.

We’ve got our work cut out for us, but luckily we have a couple of months. I actually suggested he call a cleaning service and have everything professionally gone over. A lot of it isn’t even his fault. For instance he’s basically never used the oven but there’s so much charred gunk on the bottom I’m sure it’s a fire hazard.

The carpet in the two rear rooms is awful; it’s worn, grimy and this mustardish color. We pulled up a corner and there is wood underneath. It’s not in the greatest shape but Casey said he thought he could do a minor refinish (whatever that means) and that would help a lot. He said he’ll see if his landlord will let him rip out the carpet and do some work on the floors. Then we can get each girl a nice cozy rug. I also suggested we get rid of the nasty blinds. They are crimped up and crooked and dirty. We can either get curtains or maybe wicker blinds or something simple.

I’m trying not to overwhelm him, but I’m kind of excited. It’s like getting to be an interior designer for a few months. He also gave me permission to document what we do on turnpostmom.com. So of course we have some big stuff to focus on, but I’m also going to be on the lookout for smaller, simpler touches we can do that will make the house feel more comfortable. As soon as the nights warm up I’m going to plant some annuals out front as well.

On a different subject, Kyle has taken to spending so much time with Liv I barely see him! I guess it’s ok. It’s probably even a good thing. I’m trying to just let him alone about it. He checks in with me regularly and I do think she’s a very nice girl. I know he’s smart and trustworthy so there is nothing to do but let him keep growing up. It’s just strange for me. I feel really lucky that I made my big changes when I did because at least I have plenty of my own pursuits to keep me occupied.