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I believe I'm "paying" for having all the time off a few weeks ago. I have been tons more writing than riding, but nothing fun (like for blogs). Starting several weeks back, my husband and I took a rather traumatic weekend jaunt to his parents' house where our old, protective mother dog nearly tore apart their tiny little white Maltese for trying to mess with our new puppy Teddy - it was awful. I don't care to relive it. The event was just the beginning of what would come to be 3 exasperatingly busy weeks, and there's little relief in sight. He's the light of the family for sure. This guy is my constant companion and would honestly follow me anywhere. At just over 8-months-old he is really coming into his own. Starting with the second weekend, of craziness, I had to leave mid-week to head off on a 3-hour jaunt to a very unorganized event known as the State Thespian Competition. Let just say, as one who used to work with actors professionally for a living, both live stage, film, dancers, and musical acts - this was not a very good showing of who people behave in the real world. Truly, for the 3 days, I was captured at the historic Blennerhassett Hotel, all I could think was, "I'd rather be with my horse." We did not actually stay in the hotel, we just spent 3 very long days competing and going to education classes in the ballrooms, conference rooms etc. Though obnoxiously unorganized, the event did put on a worthy leadership class of note. It made use of Harry Potter to explain effective leadership skills by splitting students into the Hogwarts Houses and allowing them opportunities to work through challenges. Also, for the nerds like myself, there was a great cosplay class taught by an associate professor from WVU. She presently has costumes on Broadway's Anastasia. She brought several fun items for the students play around with and explained to the students that cosplay is a costumer's dream. One That said, my students performed extremely well, were far more well behaved that I remember being at their age, and managed to receive a few superior ratings which also means they will represent our school at the coming National competition in June. The week was basically shot because I threw two dinner parties (which I adored as they were much-needed girls nights in!) and then took my pops out for his 65th birthday dinner. Then, the weekend involved shopping in Pittsburgh with my cousin for our bridesmaid dresses. I have been super lucky in that I usually don't require many alternations. My gut was telling me to just order the size I needed and forego the whole entire trip for some much-needed barn time, but my head said that would end poorly - my head won. I was right, though, I tried on my normal size, and sure enough - fit like a glove. I asked the woman at the store how long it would take to order the right color. She explained that it would be weeks and cost an extra $15 in shipping if I wanted it sent to my house. Now, I am not going to say I acted like a proper lady here, but this store clerk was talking crazy talk if she thought I'd wait that long for a dress that required no alterations, and spend $15 to have it mailed to my house when I saw the store was offering free shipping online. "No big deal," I told her. "I will order it myself and thank you for your service." So, right in the store, I hopped online, typed in my credit card info, and placed the order myself. Saved a whopping $45 when all was said and done. I swear. Sometimes technology astounds me. This week is Easter Vacation (and one more reason I am so thankful I took the job I have teaching!) I figured I would have the chance to ride daily. I figured wrong. Though it is only Wednesday, I missed Tuesday altogether because I became enamored with writing the rest of my student IEPs (Student Individual Education Plans - for students with special education services). This is not something I wanted to do, but a necessary evil. Thing is, I had no idea how long they would take. I have no real issue with student IEPs other than the fact that they're very bureaucratic and while there is absolutely a right way to do them, most of the paperwork I inherited for students on my caseload has been done in a lazy manner that means I have dig for information from years past, fix them, and only then can I begin writing the current year's. It is beyond frustrating, to say the least. Each one that worked on yesterday took no less than two hours- a "reasonable amount of time" from what others tell me. The rest of the week has been spent trying to complete paperwork for the classes I am being forced to take to prove I can actually handle being a special education teacher. Again, the modules are something I thought I come hammer out in a few hours, but as I get towards the end of the courses, the assignments are becoming more and more time-consuming. They aren't really meant to be completed in a day, but I that seems to be my style. I did make it out to the barn on Monday, though. Jean-Luc has surprised me the past few times I was out. He still tries to tell me what we're going to do, but he fights my leadership less and less (maybe it was that Harry Potter leadership class! Ha!). He definitely has created "our routine", but I don't think that's all bad. He knows what is expected of him, and I appreciate that - changing what is expected can cause a minor headache now, so we're working on being "flexible" in more than just the literal sense these days. As you can see, we have a few things to work on. Shame the "Side-eye" competition from http://poorwomanshowing.blogspot.com/ isn't still going on. I feel like we really would have stood a chance with this one.
One thing I learned from Monday, is just how much more confident I am on Jean-Luc. Bouncing around the field we listen to each other, and I just didn't have the feeling of utter terror living in my gut. I knew when he was going to break to try and haul off back to the barn, I knew what it meant to sit his pace, and more importantly, I felt like I knew how to bring him back under control. Don't get me wrong we still have so much work to do, but now, it is more about "me" and what I can do to cue better, sit better, and just ride better overall. He's basically doing most of what he's being asked, and that is a really cool thing.
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AuthorMy name is Chelsey. HorseGenerator's Cuevo Gold, or as he's known around this barn, "Jean-Luc Ponycard", was foaled in 2004 from Generator's Hurricane & Cheyenne's Little Bit. Top 10 Blog Favs.Archives
January 2019
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