Back in the Saddle

A few weeks ago, Lauren decided she did not want to ride anymore. Her stated reason? Get this: she didn't like having to brush the horse before riding. As she poutily announced: "My arms get tired." Oy. As much as I tried to reason and plead with her not to give it up, she was dead set in her refusal to spend 5 whole minutes tending to the very large, gentle animal who was going to patiently carry her around in the hot sun for 30 minutes. She wanted to skip the brushing and get to riding straight away. Well, you can imagine the response she got from me to that suggestion.

So, my dream of a mother and daughter galloping side by side down some secluded beach together in the future temporarily shattered, I continued my own weekly riding lessons and Lauren got to stay home with Daddy. I'll admit that my heart broke just a little.

As I came to learn, it wasn't so much the brushing that made her resistant to riding as the fact that I had stopped taking her for her lessons due to other commitments that kept coming up. I know how much she adores spending time with me, especially on the weekends, so I should have put two and two together sooner. When I finally had an inkling, I asked her if she would want to ride again if Mommy took her to her lesson. The shy smile on her face gave me my answer.

So today we returned together to the barn, holding hands and grasping our riding helmets (pink for her, black for me). And while lately age 4 has seemed to be the new 2 for us (and I'm not talking in a good way), this afternoon, seeing the look of wonder on her face which turned into a beaming smile while experiencing her first trot, all felt right with the world again.