Yes, that was me. On our buckskin horse I named Heidi because, a.) I loved that story and b.) as a colt he was always hiding behind his mother. Surprisingly, my dad let me name him Heidi even though that is not really much of a name for big ol' boy horse. Come to think of it maybe that horse held a grudge!
This is not Heidi. I don't even know if we have a picture of that beast but this looks like him. He eventually got sold off and who knows where he ended up. He was headstrong and poorly trained but we tried to ride him several times. Never with much success. He would take off to the barn, drag you under a tree, anything he could to win the round and get rid of his passenger. He was lucky more than once that my dad didn't destroy him. But, I can remember my dad making me get back on Heidi after the barn incident. You can bet I didn't want to but it was what you did on the farm. Why? Because if too much time passed before you tried it again you might not ever want to again. You might let your fear get the better of you. It might grow bigger and bigger in your memory until it was blown out of proportion.
One thing you don't want to do on the farm is let your fear get the better of you. If you let fear through off your farm skills you are done. Case in point, my dad at 70 walked out on the ice last week to rescue a calf that had fallen in the pond. Well you know this story too, guess who else breaks through the ice? Yep, Mr. Invincible. Mom had to stand by while he scrambles out of the ice and lassos the calf and they haul him to safety. I bet she loved that. Cows in general can be kind of dumb but that's money in your pocket - you do what you have to do. The farm is fraught with danger. If you let fear rule your life you won't make it on the farm. So I learned to get back up and brush it off and try again.
So here I am back in the saddle of healthy living by diet and exercise. I went to the apartment gym today for the first time in three months. Why? Because I am having a discouraging week and because I ate fried minute steak and macaroni cheese last night for dinner, that's why. (I made that terribly fattening meal for my husband as a 25th wedding anniversary gift - he has been eating light with me - I figured I owed him one - his favorite). So instead of dragging my butt around all week I decided to get back in the saddle. I am really hoping to incorporate that into my routine - going to the gym, not dragging my butt around.
Here are my current stats on the weight machines at our little "gym".
Two sets of each/ 12 reps each set:
Shoulder Press 20 lbs
Chest Press 30 lbs
Leg Extension 30 lbs
Leg Curl 20 lbs
Leg Press 70 lbs
Pec Machine 30 lbs
Those are all the machines we have but hey its better than nothing. I also did the treadmill for 10 minutes. I need to remember to take my ipod. I have some great tunes!
I'm glad my dad "encouraged" me to get back in the saddle. I learned to be tenacious when I wanted something - I learned to keep trying even when I was afraid of failure or pain. I don't want to give up and miss out on what could be. I may not like the horse running under the barn, (crazy horse) but I do still like to ride and one of my goals for spring is to be lighter and more flexible so I can feel comfortable riding again and maybe even learn how to stay in the saddle and not to let the horse take me into the barn in the first place!
That's all ~ Thanks Y'all!
Congrats on getting back in the saddle and getting that workout done! And I'd say a special exception is in order for that 25th wedding anniversary meal.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, congrats on that too!
Thanks!! I just let myself freak myself out sometimes. I've made so much progress but I get scared of failure so easily. Thanks for the 25 congrats - another journey not for wimps!
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