A couple of weeks ago, my 5 1/2-year-old granddaughter attended her first pony camp, which, by the way, I knew was definitely misnamed after viewing the photos my sweet daughter-in-law sent me of my teeny-tiny, little-bitty, she's still my baby girl Coradoodle sitting in the saddle atop a huge horse. Pony camp? Seriously? That camp should obviously be called "If You Let That Monster Horse Hurt My Precious Granddaughter, You Will Face the Wrath of Ghee" camp. But, my little grandgal had absolutely no fear of the giant misnamed "ponies," and she was super excited to tell me on Skype all about everything she learned at "pony" camp.
I don't think any of us really know what sparked Coraline's infatuation with horses, but I've come to the conclusion after more than a year of her being obsessed with all things horses that it's not just a passing phase for her. She genuinely loves horses and wants to learn everything she can about them. In fact, she already knows the correct names for most parts of a horse's body, how to bathe a horse, what all the pieces of the saddle are called, how to get a horse to go or stop, how to get it to turn right or left, and even what a horse likes to eat. I know you're already thinking it, so I'll just go ahead and say it for you ... both of my granddaughters are undoubtedly geniuses.
Fortunately for Matt and Becca's bank account, one of Matt's colleagues has an inside connection at a local stable so Coraline's been able to do a fair amount of horseback riding free of charge. As fate would have it, I suppose, the stable horse that Coraline has developed an extra-special bond with is an even more gigantic beast than the ones at pony camp. His name is Kota, and he seriously has to be the biggest horse ever born into the horse kingdom. The thought of climbing up on Mr. Kota's back would have most adults shaking in their cowboy boots, but not my little Boo. Debunking the myths that animals don't have feelings or that they don't possess the mental capacity to remember certain people, Kota lowers his head for Coraline to pat him the minute he sees her, and he's a perfect gentleman every time they go for a ride. And if he happens to take too large a bite of the carrot that Coraline feeds him post riding session, Mr. Kota gently puts his mouth down onto Coraline's hand and graciously and gently returns the surplus carrot. Gross and sweet all at the same time if you ask me.
During one of our Kota conversations on Skype, I asked Coraline if she ever fed Kota apples because I'd always heard that horses like apples. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she quickly said, "No, no, no, Ghee! I do not feed Kota apples because he absolutely does not like apples." She shook her head back and forth as she added with great emphasis (probably to be sure that I got it), "Ghee, no apples for Kota. No matter what you do, Ghee, do not try to feed apples to Kota because he does not like apples and will spit them on the ground if you try to feed them to him. No, no, no, Ghee ... I do not feed apples to Kota." And of course, me being the type of Ghee I am, I immediately replied, "So Coraline, do you ever feed Kota an apple?" Suffice it to say, my little grandgal was more than a bit exasperated with me as she went through the entire Kota doesn't eat apples story again.
As much as I wish I could tell you that my writing tonight means that my blogging exile is over, I'm afraid I can't. I was thinking last night as I drove home after babysitting one of my co-worker's two kiddos that in the past I could and probably would have easily written a couple of blog posts in the three or so hours after the kids went to bed. Last night, however, instead of writing, I finished up some projects for work and then I watched episodes of Law and Order that I've seen so many times I could almost quote the dialogue word for word. Many of you have written to ask me why I'm not writing or if there's anything you can do or say to get me back to the keyboard, and I honestly appreciate both your concern and your encouragement. The simple answer to your question of whether I will ever get back to being the prolific writer I once was is I don't know. I hope so, but I just don't know if or when that might happen.
One of the trademarks of my posts in the past has been my ability to find the lesson or truth or deeper meaning in the everyday things of life, and though it doesn't happen often these days, I think I may have discovered one in the story of the special connection between Coraline and Kota, and I'll leave it to you to decide if you see it, too. That sweet little girl and that gigantic beast of a horse are as different as any human and animal could ever be, and it doesn't matter at all. There exists a connection between those two that isn't based on size or color or status or wealth or age or power or intelligence or species or physical appearance or whether their favorite snack is apples or carrots. I'm sure there will be many other horses that come into Coraline's life over the years, but I'm willing to bet that she will never ever forget Kota and the special place he held in her heart. I'd also like to believe that Kota, that gigantic beast of a horse, will never forget the little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl who brushed his mane and put clean hay in his stable and fed him carrots. Not apples ... just carrots.
I'll give you one hint on the lesson, friends ... it has nothing to do with horses and everything to do with humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment