There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill
I know it seems like forever ago to us grown ups, but many people know Katey did not handle Jason’s deployment in 07/08 very well. Then shortly after he gets home, we announce that he is getting out of the AF and we will move again. That was followed by a switch to home school and chaos ruling our lives for about 6 months. And all during this, Katey was becoming more and more withdrawn….only wanted to watch TV or movies, didn’t want to go outside and play much, her eating habits changed, she had recurrent bad dreams, she wasn’t her usual frisky self, etc. All of which were not my usual Katey but understandable under the circumstances.
Another thing that happened was Katey did not want to participate in any of her usual activities while Jason was deployed and that continued through out the move and up until recently. She had decided that she wanted to try horseback riding. I agreed…whatever she was interested in that would get her back out there and feeling more independant. THEN I checked on lesson prices! GASP! I never knew horseback riding was THE MOST expensive activity in North America! I’m sure it’s not, but still. 
Well, I had already agreed and it is the only thing she wanted to do…golf? No. Swimming? No. Soccer? No. Tennis? No. Crap. But as parents you do what you need to do and Jason and I both felt that we needed to follow through on this for her. So once we got to VA, I found the stable that offered the best deal for a week of camp. And all the while, I was crossing my fingers that she would get close to the horses, realize how big they are, and decide it was not for her. As you can see from the pictures below, no such luck!
-
- The kids were able to decorate their horses for the show.
-
- There is usually no sign of the dimples when Katey is concentrating on something.
-
- I think she’s pretty proud of herself….and rightfully so!
