One year ago, I flew off of a horse named Jazz. Now, I have not shared this story with many people. There are many people that will find the whole thing a mere coincidence, and this memory is very sacred to me....but I feel that since a year has past, and this is a happy moment blog....it is time to share this happy moment with as many people who will read this. The way I was riding, the arena bars were to my left, and the rest of the arena was to my right. I was "riding the rail" galloping on my horse. It was a cloudy morning and Jazzie was acting different than usual. I figured it was because he wanted to go faster, so I had kicked him up into the lope. We went out to the middle of the arena and made a half circle to cut back to the rail. We were almost to the corner when I felt Jazz lean really far forward and grunt. The next thing I knew, I had hit the ground, heard a "pop" and I could no longer feel my arm. I was yelling for help like crazy because I thought Jazz had fallen down. As I lay in the dirt, many people came to help me. One cowgirl...and I still don't know who it was, got there first and held my hand until they put me up on the stretcher for the ambulence. She stroked my hand and asked me questions. Another cowgirl (my former trainer) said a beautiful prayer for me as I lay in the dirt. The horse's owner, Kathy, would later tell me that Jazz did not fall, but was standing up and would not be moved. It took three people to get him back into his stall and only after Kathy told him that I was going to be alright did he let out a sigh and seem to relax.....and people say animals don't understand us. Kathy told my husband later on that day that "that horse LOVES your wife!" I love him too.
It would be later on, after I got to the hospital, that I found out that Jazz had most likely spooked and had "backfired" on me. Imagine what the rodeo horses do to the cowboys with their heads far down and they kick their back legs up high in the air.....that is what Jazz did. The amazing part of this story....no one was around to see me fall off of Jazz. According to a law of physics, an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by some opposing force. In a few brief seconds that Jazz backfired, I SHOULD have either gotten further caught in the stirrups, or been shoved so far forward that I did a somersault OVER his head and onto the ground...more than likely breaking my neck. In those few brief seconds with NO ONE watching, my hands somehow let go of the reins, my feet were lifted BACKWARDS and out of the stirrups, and I was flown up and SIDEWAYS off of the horse. I know there are people reading this that don't believe in angels, but I do. I believe with all of my heart that some guardian angel of mine lifted me up....knowing I was going to only break my arm, and that would be far less than anything else, and shoved me sideways AWAY from the metal rail and into the soft dirt. I am so thankful for that miraculous moment in time. One year ago today, I was given a miracle, and I am hoping tonight that my limit on those has not run out. I could really use one more to get this arm healed.
Waking up this morning and going to physical therapy was the best thing. I got to work on my arm and also go to get help with my weekly migraine. They have some of the nicest patients at the physical therapy group and we all get to know one another from going so much. I am grateful to meet new friends!
After dropping Connor off at playgroup, I went home, grabbed some apples and carrots, and headed down to visit my friend Jazz. He has had a rough year too. He hurt his leg and, according to his owner, hasn't been the same since the accident. I love how he neighs and snorts when I show up. If I pet other horses that he can see, he whinnies and neighs louder so I know he is displeased lol. It was a nice happy moment, on the ground, to have with him today.
I picked Connor up from playgroup and got to spend some time with the mom who was hosting today. We usually drop our kids off, but don't get to talk to one another too much. We had a really nice conversation today and it was really nice to get to talk to another mom about "mom" things. :-)
After work, David and Joel made dinner and we had a great time eating and then doing Family Home Evening. FHE lasted about 3 minutes tonight....the kids weren't that into the lesson, so we moved on to making chocolate covered strawberries from our strawberry farm trip.....YUM! We had so many that we dropped some off at our neighbor's home. Hope they enjoyed them as much as we did!
All is quiet now as the kiddos are in bed. I am heading there myself when the blog is done. How grateful I am for the incredible trials I have had over the last 365 days of my life. 6 surgeries (4 arm, a tonsillectomy, and one gall bladder out) So many emotional trials that they are too numerous and trying to count. But we are a family. We pray together more, we read the scriptures every night, and we are very aware as to what is important, and what is simply not. I never look back (only on one of our emotional trials, but that is it) and say that if I could take it back and do it over WITHOUT it happening, I gladly would. The last 365 days have been harder days than we have ever had. There have been more tears spilled on my pillow than even when I was a teenager lol. Through it all, I am so grateful to be surrounded physically and spiritually by my loved ones. With that, I bid you all a good night and happy moments to be had tomorrow!
