If Not Now, When??

I think I've mentioned this before but about 7 months before I turned 40 I started to panic. I continued to panic right through my 40th birthday and clear into my 41st year. It wasn't so much that I felt physically old, just that I had regrets. A list of things that I would never do. I didn't even know what I wanted to be when I grew up and here I was, well into middle age. On the downhill side of life. The cup was half empty. I'm not exactly sure when it happened but at some point it dawned on me that there just might be things I could do that were never on the original list. Things that I hadn't thought of! Mentally I made a whole new list. The list has grown to include horses and 4-wheelers. Maybe even a 10K. I might even know what I want to be when I grow up. If nothing else, I'm learning to take care of myself and I think that's made all the difference. I've come to an understanding with the person I'll be when I'm 70 that I won't have regrets and I will do my best to take care of my 42 year-old self so that my 70 year-old self won't have to be confined by a useless, run-down mind and body. God willing.

All that to say we had a very interesting event last week that brought all of this back to the surface for me.

It was a corporate dinner party with a motivational speaker who spent close to 20 years of his life in and out of prison. He's been out for about 13 years and leads a very productive life because one day he asked himself the question, "If not now, when?"

Although this simple, yet profound, thought never crossed my mind, I think I'm beginning to understand the idea behind it.

A couple of days after the event I found this quote in a magazine:

"A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams."

Obviously I'm not getting any younger but I'd like to think that I'm closer to the beginning than the end. . .

Lessons. . .

The weather on Thursday at horse-back riding lessons really caught me by surprise. We had been experiencing spring-like weather for a few days and I had begun to hope that the long winter was over . . . No such luck. It was bitterly cold with a freezing wind that added insult to injury. Every once in awhile a few snowflakes would bluster by just to drive the point home that winter wasn't leaving anytime soon. So, I steeled myself against it, pulled up the hood of my coat and got to work getting little Cookie ready for a rider. She was rebelling against the cold, too. Even while she was still in her pen, she was stamping her feet and looking out of sorts. I led her into the barn to brush her and she didn't see anything good about that, either! Even with her chomping and stomping I managed to brush her, saddle her up and even put on her bridle without any help.

The only part I'm unable to do (yet) is to attach this little apparatus around her tail (!):

I spent the next hour and a half trying to stay upright in the arena as the wind threatened to blow us all over.

We survived the day, and, when all was said and done, I was happy to be there. I have to say, as strange as it sounds, facing down this fear of horses has been one of my greatest accomplishments. Granted, these are only ponies that are pretty gentle most of the time, but, considering that on the first day of lessons I couldn't walk behind a horse to save my life, I'm a little proud of how far I've come. Oh yeah, Gloria is doing great, too!! I forget sometimes that these lessons aren't all about me!!!

Seussical. . .

The last two weeks have been full of Dr. Seuss. . . Actually, I've only been to three of the shows but Rob and Kurt have practically lived at the Civic Center for the last two weeks. Rob comes home and plays all of the songs on the piano just so he's not the only one with the songs stuck in his head!! We were told that all photography and video taping was strictly prohibited so I followed the rules. . . Fortunately, not everyone does so I found some videos on Youtube of the same play from other production companies. So, while it isn't exactly the same as the one we've been watching, it's pretty close. . .

HOPE. . .

On Wednesday night, in preparation for Easter, we had the kids decorate baskets filled with soil and seeds that will eventually sprout and grow and serve as an Easter table centerpiece! The growth will represent spring and new life and HOPE!!

We should see growth by class on Sunday and we should see a nice burst of wildflowers, grass and clover by Easter! Hopefully. . .

Happy Birthday, Tony!!

On Tuesday night we had a birthday celebration for one of my favorite people: my brother-in-law, Tony.


He always cracks me up with his dry wit and Gloria usually hangs on his every word just waiting to laugh at something, anything, he might say. . .

He usually gets fun things (?) like tools and snow mobile accessories as gifts. . .

Gloria was especially interested in his new set of digital calipers. . . (??). . .

I'm not exactly sure why. . .

After a delicious enchilada dinner followed by angel food birthday cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries, Zach and Gloria pulled out an assortment of hats and wigs

It was pretty entertaining. . .

Zach took on an assortment of interesting characters. . .

Zach says this is what I'll look like in 10 years when I'm really old. Apparently I'll be going into the mining or construction industry. . .

Just before we all went home for the evening, I sat at the table with my little niece and took these cute photos. It's easy to take cute photos with this kind of subject matter. . .

Notice that I didn't claim to take "quality" photos, just cute ones. . .

11 More Days. . .

In eleven more days my quiz team will head up north for the final quiz meet of the season. In order to raise funds for the trip, the team (with help from Kristin and Allison) is holding a dessert auction next Sunday. To advertise our fund raiser and gather supporters, we held a mock quiz round with adult volunteers from the congregation.

The volunteers knew they didn't stand a chance going in but they were great sports about it. . . (All three of my quizzers would have quizzed out except that Gary gave Steph's mom the last question even though Steph's light was on!!!)

We even wore our matching shirts to church. . . except for Gary. . .

Eleven more days. . . !!!!!!!!!

Strike A Pose. . .