Buck and Grace, both of us about age 14
One of the programs at Loudoun Therapeutic Riding is called Silver Spurs. It involves bringing seniors out to the barn to enjoy time with the horses. Some of the participants are in wheelchairs, many don’t hear or see well, but they all appreciate the pleasure of time on the farm. This program has inspired me to change the prime directive given to my daughter.
Instead of finding me a nursing home that has cats when the fateful day arrives, she must find me one (with cats) that also has something like a Silver Spurs outing every so often.
I was reminded of that directive when I watched this video from Daniel Pink, in which he poses seven questions to help (young?) people find their purpose in life. One of the questions is, “What made you weird as a kid?” He’s asking after that childhood quirk or obsession that set us apart, made us lose track of time, and gave us great joy. Acing every spelling test, learning forty different tree leaves, or in my case, gobbling up everything remotely related to horses.
Delray and Grace,
both of us having fun (I hope)!
I wore saddle shoes because they were saddle shoes without having any notion where the name came from (talk about weird). I still remember my first lesson horse (Strawberry) who I rode when I was eight years old and spending a summer in Fort Collins, CO. My sister rode Sue, a pretty bay, and my brother rode Amber, the palomino (or maybe Tuffy, another bay). The first equine I owned was an old style Quarter Horse named Buck.
And all throughout my life, horses have been a good, big thing. When I hit the Slough of Despond in my mid-thirties, horses pulled me out of it. When my daughter and I had nothing else in common, we shared a love of horses. We still do!
Horses bring me joy. When I was a kid, books brought me joy too. I was always reading (easier to do when there’s no TV, and in later years, no TV on school nights). I was also outside in nature a very great deal, and much given to solitude because the only other girl near my age in that neighborhood–my sister–kinda got tired of playing Barbies with me by the time I hit elementary school (I was tired of her too, though even my Barbie was usually on a horse borrowed from my brother’s Johnny Quest).
I loved to bring my mom wildflower bouquets, and flowers still mean a lot to me (just ask the Bad Heirs). Flowers are so magical, with their bright colors, heady scents, and blend of tenaciousness (there are daffodil patches in my neighborhood that go back at least a century) and transience.
I am dwelling on these joys lately with some purpose, because early summer often sees my mood and energy take a dip. When I think about the joys that have worked for me all my life, I am reassured that the summertime blues can be dealt with (again), and that even the later stages of senescence can admit of much pleasure and delight.
What did you love to do as a kid that still brings you happiness now?
PS: Print edition of the novella A Kiss for the Ages is already on sale in anticipation of Amazon’s print price hike starting June 10.
I’ve pretty much always had my nose in a book and my family agrees with that assessment. I also remember getting “Scholastic Magazine” in the summer and sitting outside and reading it cover to cover.
Reading was and is still my favorite way to spend time. The adventures I’ve been on and those I’ll be on in the future, and the things I’ve learned and what I’ll learn next, bring me joy. One thing that’s different as I’ve grown older is my willingness and ability to stop reading a book if it doesn’t bring me joy and/or the characters or the plot annoy me too much. There are so many other books to read instead.
Amen, Karen.
And I wore saddle shoes because they were sturdy tie shoes my mother hoped would straighten my crooked legs, or at least make the toe-in less apparent.
Books,dogs and baking were my favorite things to do as a kid.
Hmm…and they are my favorites now.
I love to read…you can sit in your favorite chair and travel to a place you have never been to, solve a mystery or fall in love with a handsome hero.
Unconditional love…that’s the joy a dog brings.
Baking Tasty treats, warm bread, cakes to celebrate milestones. Great memories
Yep, reading is a joy for me that has continued throughout my lifetime. The best day is one where I can go outside and read under an apple tree, eating fresh apples while they are still a little too green (the stomachache is worth it!)
I was a Girl Scout from the earliest age possible through my senior year in high school and I sold enough cookies 2 years in a row to go to summer camp for free and I also had a twice daily paper route that I did with my beloved orange cat he knew the route and would try to herd me if I tried to veer in what he thought the wrong direction
I loved to read so much as a child that:
* One night when I was reading under the covers with a flashlight and the board under my mattress broke, I spent the night with my body sloped had downward because I didn’t want my parents to know I was reading when my lights were out.
* Also, my mother said that I read so much that I’d need glasses, so I poked the lenses out of a pair of glasses and wore them that way all summer so I’d be used to them in the future. Note: I didn’t need them for thirty-five years.
It’s a no-brainer to figure out that reading is my favourite pastime.
I still do some sewing that my mom taught me, but biking which I loved as a child no longer a hobby since mine self-destructed.
It was fun to remember these. Thanks, Grace.
I have loved to read ever since I learned how to do so. (And I thank all the Gods and goddesses who ever were thought to exist, that my dyslexic tendencies didn’t keep me from being able to read – just write, spell, and do math.) To this day, I cannot get to sleep if I don’t have the time to relax and read a few chapters of whatever fiction book I happen to be reading. Animals have also been a lifelong love of mine – one of my cats is sleeping on my lap and arms as I type. I’ve had many other interests and loves through the years, but reading, cats, & dogs have been and will be the forever ones.
I don’t have “a thing” from childhood, I have moments. Flashes of happiness. I never excelled at anything and was very aware of it. Lost a lot of enjoyment focused that way. One thing I was sure to share with my daughters is that it is a mistake to loose the enjoyment simply participating because you don’t excel. I have tried to rectify the situation myself when the opportunity arises.
I loved being in the woods near our suburban neighborhood and reading and my dog. All still pleasures although the dogs have gotten smaller.
I have always been a voracious reader. My area didn’t have a library within easy access (even though I grew up in a big city!). We did have a “bookmobile” that came around every two weeks. I remember choosing my allowed two books from the children’s section, a two foot wide shelf along the left side of the bus that served as the bookmobile. Of course, two books couldn’t last me two weeks, so one of my cherished memories was the day I was old enough to obtain an adult’s library card which allowed me to check out as many books as I wanted! I remember starting from the top left corner of the children’s section and reading all the books to the bottom right corner. Finally, (finally!!!) a brick and mortar library was built only 8 or so blocks away from me. I remember riding my bike there whenever I wanted to and choosing whatever I felt like reading. What freedom!!! I still enjoy reading above everything else (except maybe cooking, though reading recipes is a particular joy). I decided on English as a major so I could indulge in my passion while earning a degree…. How weird is that? Stay safe. Stay well everyone!
When I was 5, my mother asked me if I wanted piano lessons or dancing lessons. Having no clue what to say, I picked dancing. It has been a pleasure all my life. I couldn’t be a professional dancer because I was the wrong body type then (though I had a possible chance to be a Mouseketeer). So I did a little choreography, and then discovered English Coountry dancing, morris dancing, etc. and that became my social life and has brought me so many friends everywhere.
I’ve also had cats in my life always, and books!
Joy as a kid for me was going to the stables near the Disposal Plant in Essex, MD everyday. My friend, Leah, who owned her horse, Toby, took me to the best adventure of my life, horsee stables. In order to ride and exercise a horse I happily cleaned hooves, mucked stalls, carried water, etc! No pay, only the joy of the outdoors and Horses. Even being tossed off the back of a very pregent mare, whose owner said “just getup there and give her some exercise” ever daunted my love of being with a horse.
Your adventures of riding and to own one,makes me a little envious.
Reading Sir Julian’s experience in The Gentleman of Questionable… I am in heaven and have learned so much about the horse racing world of the 19th century! Reading brings up so many memories! If only more kids could get to a stable and work around horses their world would explode. Thanks for this recent book.
Oops, I made a real mistake. Stepped away from the computer, loosing my first comment I started another. Sorry. There’s always one in every group, I guess 🙂
I have enjoyed reading from a young age. I have read books such as war and peace and Papillon but generally i enjoy regency romance, as i do like a ‘happy ending’ and an escape from the not so happy things in the world. I started with Georgette Heyer, a friend of my sister’s was reading a copy on the bus. My favouites now are Mary Balogh and your good self. So, thank you Grace for the joy you bring me when i read or reread your stories.