Hey! You once were lost but now you're found!

[Yip]

I got out of the habit of visiting boards at some point after joining fb. I packed up my pc almost 1.5 yrs. ago when staging the old house for sale, & "lost" bookmarks, etc. I've been thinking of you gals collectively lately, and Lisa was kind enough to send me the missing link.

So, to catch up quickly, last summer we relocated to SC. We were following our baby grabddaughter, Camden, because daddio could live anywhere in his territory close to a regional airport. We were reeeeally burned out caring for the acreage, so we bought a lovely home in a subdivision & board Cookie about 2.5 mi. away.

The first stable was about 1/2 mi. away but it didn't work out. Cookie & I are happy with the new stable ex. they only have indoor/outdoor arenas and no place to ride otherwise. I am getting weary of circles, but can't complain till I've exhausted everything that can be done in arenas.

Things were going great, loving the new home, daddio was only 20 mins. from the airport instead of 1 hr. He died very suddenly and unexpectedly on Feb. 3 of this year. Then my dad died in OH in March. Mom is in doing well asst. living and our family home of 55 years is for sale. I like where I live but don't have any friends here, ex. a few at the stable. I still have Maui kitty & Cameron, our rescued Sheltie, but I feel very alone and lonely. Littleyip (Robin) & her fam. are very closeby, fortunately. Camden will turn 2.5 in a couple weeks, and she's about the only light in my life nowadays. She can talk at least a year ahead of her age, and understands everything. She is hilarious and keeps us on our toes. Last week we were talking about people's haircolor and I stated my hair is brown. She thought a second and said, "Annnnd white!". Lol! We never know what she'll say next.

So, that's my new life in a nutshell. I feel like a different person. Almost everything about my life has changed in the past year. Cookie is constant, though. Sometimes I think I want a different horse, but familiarity always wins.

I'll be reading about all your news & changes over the next few days.

[rhapsody]

Yip, it's good to see you here again! I don't get here very often any more either but I try to check in occasionally.

[Idaho Linda]

Welcome home, Yip!

[ride4fun]

I'd love to get a snapshot of the last couple years from everyone. For myself I finally got back into doing some AERC rides in a small way last year. My farrier thought maybe shoeing would help Sadie get better hoof wall but she stepped on the heel of the shoe and I had a frustrating summer with her feet and lower leg issues from the feet. The silver lining out of that was that I decided I wanted a second distance horse but was not in a rush and ended up buying Tanza after watching CL ads all summer and resisting any temptations to mess with project horses. And I did do three LD rides on Sadie, as well as a couple fun rides with DL's twins on Mason and Lady and dad on RazzMo last year so there was some good summer fun.

I'm still getting to know Tanza and not conditioning hard yet but he is awesome and I think he can do endurance in a bigger way than any of my previous horses. My dream of riding the Big Horn 100 is reborn. This year will be about laying foundation to be able to try that next summer and I will do a family trail ride with my dad and sis in ND on the MaahDaahHey trail in July. Sadie will do that as I'm not willing to risk injury to Tanza with possible bogs and the potholes that the clay soil creates in the trail in spots.

[Reds]

Yip, I was so sorry to hear about your DH passing...February was a nutty month and I'm sure I should have replied, but didn't have it in me.

Crappy excuse, but it is what it is.

Welcome back

[Yip]

Reds, you actually did reply. Probably only a week or so after. And I could see that that was a difficult time for you, too. Thank you and everyone else for being my friends!

I'm trying so hard not to lose myself through all this. If it weren't for LY, baby, & Cookie, I'm pretty sure I would have trouble getting out of bed every morning.

[DorothyB]

My last couple of years . . . I've shared most of this, but:

I started hearing rumors of early retirement packages so started looking at my finances to see if I could retire if I got a year's pay as incentive.

Then there were lots of changes at the office with most below my level being relocated to another building with open floor plan (not even cubicles).

After being told that I would move to that building, I was told that they looked at my personnel file and I was "overqualified". I opted to retire instead of them looking for another position within the company which would be using a different software and require a longer commute.

Retiring was difficult as the first person I trained left 4 days before I was to retire and I got to start over (this time with the person I wanted to train the first time) and it went well.

I retired end of Oct last year. So, I'm doing some AERC intro rides and figuring out how to get everything done while being retired. I'm really liking it, but surprised how much I feel like I'm not getting done. I've lost over 20# since I retired, but still have 20# to go.

Too hot to do much riding now until the end of summer, but I am taking my first riding lesson in years tomorrow at a covered arena less than 3 miles from my house.

I'm having a casita built in Panama. It should be done in July. I go down for two weeks in July and probably another two weeks towards the end of August.

[Marci]

I totally get that new person thing. And feeling alone. But life is good all the same. I was so sorry to read of your husband's death and then your father a month later.
You know it's like a new chapter of our lives. But dang it's hard to turn the page. Though it gets easier in time.
And I too have been guilty of not being on equifriends. My laptop started having problems so I got a tablet. I love how handy it is but dang it's hard to figure out. LOL

[Frostym]

Yip, I've been thinking of you. Thanks for checking in and catching us up on your news. It's such a short time since you lost Chuck and your Dad. A double blow. You sound remarkably together to me. Good job.

I'm sorry you have to go through this grief. After I lost Jim, it helped me to lean on this old saying, "A widow shouldn't make any big decisions for at least a year." That takes the pressure off. You need time and peace to heal. You are close to your daughter's family and especially your grandchild. That is a huge blessing. If Sundays are hard, try visiting some churches. There are some really loving and sustaining churches and Sunday Schools out there. Don't forget that you are a child of God. He loves you and will sustain you. We are always here for you and if you want to "talk," please pm me. ((((HUGS))) and much love to you.

[Mary Ann]

Frosty's given you some beautiful advice. I'm listening too, Frosty. I'm so sorry for the circumstances of your wisdom. Grief's an odd thing, isn't it?

Yip, I've been trying to deal with the fact that my hubby has cancer. It's almost certainly going to kill him. He was diagnosed in 2012, and the odds that he's lived this long are staggering. Less than five percent make it five years. We've done a lot of financial preparation for his passing, but it's funny how one's heart lags way behind. Like it can't really happen. But unfortunately, that's not real life.

Not long after he was diagnosed, McEachan died. Just nine years old, from a weakness in his aorta. I was leading him into the horsepital because we all thought it was probably colic, and yes I was going to do the surgery. But he never got that far. He was scared, he'd never been to anyplace like that, and he died being obedient to me. It was serendipitous because as I called Doc to do a breeding soundness exam on Zanetta, she showed heat. Believe it or not, shake and bake, I had her bred to a fine stallion (Brend413 from Iron Spring Farm) within days of McEachan's passing. The result was a beautiful 2014 filly, with a disposition every bit as sweet as McEachan's, and even more so. She's going to be started in 2017, by me, when I'm 62 years old. And I may well be alone by then.

My father went through another illness that scared us all. He's 87, but he's still just amazingly sharp. He needed a heart valve replaced, and after the surgery his kidney (he only has one, due to a tumor about fifteen years ago) failed. He's on permanent dialysis now, and griping because he wants to go to the office. Business is thriving, and he wants back in. He went briefly through a post-surgical dementia that really scared me worse than the kidney failure, but he got through that.

There are lots of little things that might be big things if I didn't have so many big things. It's too rainy to ride here much, and the mosquitoes are terrible for this time of year. We spent last night in the basement hugging the dogs and listening to the radio, as tornadoes touched down in our area. I was great while the crisis was on, but then I couldn't sleep and was weepy. I'm sure you'd understand. Loss on top of loss threatened with more loss makes a person a little bit brittle.

Frosty, I'm going to take your words to Yip to heart. No big decisions for at least a year. I know I'll need to have my head on straight. You and Marci have both been such beautiful examples of strength during the most trying times. And no two journeys are the same, are they?

Welcome back, Yip! You have been missed. I hope the months and years ahead help you to regain your emotional balance. I wish you beautiful bright sunny days, toddler smiles, and a heart that's ready to feel joy again. I have no doubt that your DH would want you to have that.

[KarenN]

YIP - so good to "see" you. I was so heartbroken for you. You were and still are in my prayers. I haven't been here much lately either - life and time away from the computer all combined. I do come here and read and pray for those in need, just don't post as much.

Our lives are full. There has been sadness, but incredible joy also. I lost my father at the very young age of 77 last spring completely unexpected, then we lost Ted's dad in November at 79. His was a long and hard illness, and very hard on all the family. Harriott passed away while we were at dad's funeral, she was fat and sassy and never showed anything wrong, though she was about 30. Just fell over dead. Guess he needed a good horse with him.

The boys are doing great. Phillip and Beckah are in FL visiting her family. They will be home tomorrow. Ian and Sara (his girlfriend) are still going strong after two years of being officially "together." Ian is riding bareback broncs in rodeos. Scares me to death, but he's actually very good at it. He is going in tomorrow for surgery to put a finger back together (happened 4 weeks ago, but he wouldn't go in till Sara finally made him). He's already figuring out how to modify his rigging so that he can ride while it's healing

Ted is still preaching. We have a small home church that he pastors on Saturday evenings, he has a "young men's" group of 7 boys 13-18 that he mentors once a week. And he still does the occasional Sermon on the Mount from time to time.

I am riding as much as I can. It's been too hot lately (and too WET) but this coming week is supposed to be much cooler - hoping to get a few rides in.

So I guess that's us in a nutshell. It's good to "see" everyone here

[Yip]

Thank you MA & Karen! I wasn't here but I never stopped praying for all of you. I will comment to you both when I have more time.