My uni assignment is due in 3 days.
I am on school holidays for 2 weeks.
No time to get away but we plan to take a few day trips after my assignment has been submitted.
These are a few of the things on my mind.
For some reason, I have been thinking of how important it is to make the most of every day. When someone close to you dies suddenly, unexpectedly and your world is turned upside down, you make choices as time goes on, to move forward. In the time of raw grief you cry a lot, wonder what life will look like and plod through a moment at a time. Somehow you try to see beyond the grief and begin making decisions to get you through the day, the weeks and then the months. A few years later or so, you realize that it's time to start dreaming again and planning for a future.
When I came back to Australia, my dream was to buy a horse and a western saddle as I felt it was a connection to Dave and my life with him back in the States. I like thoroughbreds although some don't. Some people see them as skittish and temperamental - but not as much as an Arab! As stated in an earlier post, I have a thoroughbred and now I also have a western saddle. I picked it up yesterday and as weird as it might sound, I do feel more 'complete', for want of a better word. I have enjoyed going to play with Lucky 3 or 4 times a week and yesterday, Andy and I introduced Milly to Lucky. They seemed to like each other. Lucky definitely likes Andy. When I ride Lucky, if I give him free rein, he will walk right up to Andy and just stop there waiting for Andy to pat him and give him a hug. Andy hasn't had much experience with horses before but he fully supports me and I am teaching him how to take care of Lucky too.
Another first for me was last Friday, I rode for the first time, bareback. It wasn't as comfortable as using a saddle but it was still fun. It teaches me to have good balance as there's nothing else but to hold on while sitting on the back of my horse. He tried to go a bit faster than a walk at times but I checked his reins and kept him to a walk. I didn't fall off which was a plus.
Andy is a good husband. Yesterday I was wondering why he takes care of me so well, without complaining and sometimes it seems, without expecting anything in return. He was the one who encouraged me to get involved in my favourite sports: squash and netball, he is the one who looks after our home and makes sure I don't have to worry about things when I get home from work, he stays close when I am studying and he holds me close at night time. I asked him why and he replied, "That's what a husband is supposed to do - love you, take care of you and serve you." Thank You.
On Tuesday, he is going for a job interview for a temporary groundsman position and last Friday he went to an employment agency who were impressed with his resume. There is the possibility of him getting a part-time job but he may have to get a forklift license first. It is quite expensive to get one so we need to see if there's a way to get it while getting paid work to pay it off. It would help Andy so much if he could feel that he is contributing financially to our household. We have dreams of owning a few acres one day, keeping a couple horses so that others too can come and ride and maybe fattening up cattle to sell at market. The other day at school, Avis prayed that Andy would get a job but that he would have Wednesdays off so he could play golf with her as they have been enjoying that so much which is good for both of them. I had to laugh when I spoke to Andy later and he said there was a job going part-time with Wednesdays off and some Saturday morning work. I've decided if I have any prayer points, I'll give them to Avis to pray about.
I am very content with my life right now and I don't want to get complacent and take any of it for granted. I need to remember to be thankful for each day and continue to choose life.
When we come to every weekend, Andy noticing my tiredness will say, "You've had a big week!" Sometimes it feels like every week is choc-full of things going on: working full-time, netball, squash, study, Andy, friends (and not all in that order, either!) I get so busy that I have to deliberately stop and talk with Andy about making sure we are putting our marriage first before others and that we are not getting lost in the busy-ness of life.
Last weekend was Nathan and Melanie's wedding and it was a lovely time catching up with old friends and new, family, celebrating the love that Nathan and Melanie share and enjoying beautiful weather too! Our plane trip going there took longer than expected but we arrived safely and came back home without any problems. I am so thankful and proud of Nathan and Melanie.
This week I have been aiming to keep up with study. I passed the quiz I had to do a couple of weeks ago and now I have to work on my assignment due in less than three weeks. I sometimes have to remind myself that it's just for a short time and then I can relax. Today, Andy and I are playing in the grand final for our indoor netball team. It has been a fun season and I am looking forward to playing again next season.
Now for some big news. I have bought myself a horse called Lucky. Lucky is a thoroughbred who looks a lot like the horse I owned back in the States. (Dee) He is only 14.3 HH and is 13 years old with personality plus and a gentle, wanting to please nature. I bought him from some friends and I will continue to agist him at their place so they don't lose him completely. It all fell into place. A few months ago, Andy and I were at their place for dinner and I mentioned that I wanted to buy a horse but not until September. They said that when I found a horse, I could keep him at their place and as M knows a lot about horses, I found that reassuring as she will be able to help me learn to take care of a horse, the "Aussie" way. I had looked at a couple other horses but they were not within my price range. My friends had not planned on selling Lucky but when they did, they sold him to someone else who decided that Lucky wasn't for them. Anyway, it all fell into place nicely.
Yesterday, I went shopping with my friends and in some ways, as we looked at bridles and halters, Ariat boots and Wrangler jeans, it was almost like taking a trip down memory lane with Dave. It is very exciting so now into my busy life, I have to add taking care of my horse. I drive past my friends' place every day on my way to and from work so it will be easy to drop in and play with Lucky. The other good thing about having my own horse is I find it therapeutic to ride and groom a horse.
Life is good and I have a lot to be thankful for. Even in the busy-ness and challenges, there is always something good (or someone special) to balance out the difficulties.
P.S. Our indoor netball team won the grandfinal. I think we did really well since we only started playing as a team at the start of this year!
