Countdown Mode

In two weeks this adventure will be over. In two weeks I will be packing up my little world and saying goodbye to the motley crew who have been my co-workers, roommates, and social network for the better part of a year. Most of them, I will never see again. Most of the places I have called home, I will never return to. It is a rather odd feeling. Like I’ve been on a 10 month vacation and its time to take the been-there-done-that t-shirt and head home. Weird. I’m used to life just gradually flowing from one thing to the next, but this chunk just feels so separate, in it own little compartment. Not that the things I have learned this year won’t be carried with me, they will, but more like how you take things back from a weekend retreat, not from a year of your life.
Anywho, since this probably isn’t making any sense anyway, perhaps I should just move on to what I’ve been up to for over a month. Yeah, sorry about that. I got…busy?
We only have three work days left on what has turned out to be one of our very best projects. The staff is great, the kids are adorable, and the horses are, well, everything horses should be- big and majestic and oh so wonderfully smelling. I love them. I realize now that perhaps I never did completely get over that particular obsession. Who knew?
Here’s a run down of a general day for you: we leave for work anywhere between the hours of 6:30 and 8 and drive for just under an hour. Most days a few of us grab the fly spray and a halter and head out to the pastures to spray down the horses (there are about 20 of them and this may actually be my favorite part of the day- so peaceful, so bucolic). We grab the five or so horses for the morning classes, give them a treat, groom them, and tack them up ready to go. Horseback riding, simple concept right? Nope, not in this case. I admit, when I first learned that for each rider there needed to be four additional volunteers (an instructor, a horse leader, and two side-walkers to help hold the student in place) I was a bit of a skeptic. I mean, I love riding as much as anybody, but if it is that much of an ordeal…..? Clearly I had no clue as to the power of therapeutic riding. The horse essentially provides a moving surface that forces the rider to engage muscles to stay balanced, so before long kids that barely had the strength to keep their heads up start building muscle and gaining motor skills. It helps with balance, it helps with core strength, it helps with attention span, and it’s even been know to help students make that jump from nonverbal to verbal. Pretty powerful stuff. Even in the few weeks we have been here, we have seen visible progress in several students and we have had so much fun in the process. There are usually about 3 or so hour-long classes a day, and then often a large group visit (often including the adorable minis), and then for the rest of the time we get to be farm hands- cleaning the barn, mowing, cleaning water troughs. We are turning into quite the fence builders as well. The farrier came one of our first weeks there, and thanks to my inquisitive nature, I actually got to help trim a hoof. Turns out its softer than I thought…or the clippers were sharper.
Outside of work things have been going pretty well too. I didn’t even tell you about Trek Fest did I? Man, I’m an awful blogger. Who lets such awesome material like rural Iowan towns who self declare the title of "future birthplace of James T Kirk" go to waste? Me apparently. I’m shocked that I also haven’t even written to brag, complain, or panic about triathlon training. Yep, its in ten days and no I have come no where close to being able to complete all three events in a twenty four hour period. Up until this week I was feeling plum pleased that I’d been consistently completing the 500 yard swim, 16 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run all in the same week. I mean, for someone who doesn’t believe in exercise, that’s really pretty impressive. And when I think about how a couple months ago I could only swim about 5 lengths of the pool before I needed a substantial break, and I can now swim 20 or 30, that’s some definite progress. But now that race day has crept into the 10 day forecast, the reality is setting in and I’m more than a little nervous. Surely it can’t be that much worse than the half marathon I didn’t really train for…six years ago. Wow, I can’t possibly be as old as I apparently am.
Today was my first day back to work after a three day vacation. I realized I hadn’t used any of my personal days and it seemed such a shame to let them go to waste. Sunday night I headed off for a little one night solo camping trip. It was great. Rained most of the night and off and on throughout the day, but I still got in a several mile hike, much reading in the hammock, and several campfires with great meals cooked on them. And probably the best nap I’ve had in years. All in all it was a great little get away. The second day was devoted to relaxing on campus, and the third, reluctantly, was given to responsible things like working on my resume and trying to get things in order. Not quite as fun as the first two, but at least it was productive. Seeing as how two weeks from right now I should be heading up the drive at my parent’s house in Oklahoma, it was probably a wise decision. Wow, I think we are finally up to date.