Back in the Saddle Again

My Jackie Sue is a pretty amazing little girl--I think I've made my feelings for her pretty clear before.  But, just in case you don't know, she has her own little blog, A Day in the Life of a Cowgirl.  And her stories are impressive enough that my good friend & fellow educator, Mrs. H., decided to use her blog as an inspiration for her first grade class.  This was the message we received last night from her class.

Dear Jackie,
We love your stories! Especially the diary of a sister. It made us all giggle and could relate to it. We want to be writers just like you. After reading your stories today 6 of us wrote stories 3 or more pages long! You inspire us! Write more so we can read your stories. 
Thank you. 
Sincerely,
Mrs. H's First Graders


What a great way to help Jackie start her day today!  She was beaming from ear to ear & let me know she has more stories to post!

Now, I'm a proud Momma.  My girl can write, but she can also find her way around a barn.  For some reason today I decided to come to her horse riding lesson early & watch the end of it.  I haven't been to see her ride in several months.  I was sitting in my car just outside of the arena when I heard her instructor's voice get louder--telling her to sit up straight!  I looked back and the horse Jackie was riding today had been giving her trouble, but now he had taken off to almost a gallop & was practically bucking as he raced around the corner of the arena.  I could tell she was panicked, even from where I was sitting.  After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was actually only a few seconds, the saddle was empty.  I calmly walked around the car & strolled over to her corner of the arena where her instructor was already helping her up to her feet.  My girl was white as a ghost but grinnin' from ear to ear!  Seriously!  Her instructor looked at me with a relieved smile & said "she handled that fall just like I did when I was her age.  She never let go of the reigns!"  After she assured us that nothing was hurt, I was the beaming one when she agreed to get right back into the saddle again and finish her lesson.  Honestly, I don't know what I would've done when I was only 8 years old.  I also don't know what many other kids would've done.  Her instructor told me several times as we were leaving how proud she was at the way she handled herself today.  Yeah, me too!


Experience is not what happens to you.  Experience is what you do with what happens to you. 
--Aldous Huxley

It really is how you react to the situation & my little cowgirl fell off that horse & didn't hesitate once to get right back on the horse again.  What a lesson to be learned.  I would love to take credit for her incredible-ness, but I think she just creates it herself.
 

So to all you reading this, don't be afraid to get back in that saddle again!