Happy, Happy Day

I have been full of regret and sadness thinking I would never ride a horse again.  Yesterday, though, I went with Kendall to see her horse Charlie.  She offered to let me ride him.With a little hesitation I decided to do it.  If I had not taken the opportunity, I would have been very sorry.  It turned out to be a wonderful experience.  I felt at home on horseback, though a little tight so that I bounced more than I should have at the trot.  I was ecstatic.

It's hard to understand or describe the effect riding has on me.  All day I felt different, younger, more physically fit, more energetic.  I swear my body shed a couple of years.  When I walked the dogs later in the day I felt like I could have walked ten miles.  My back didn't ache like it usually does after a very short distance.  This is the "upper" I had while working at the horse shelter.  I knew that since I left there I've aged, mentally and physically.  Though I suspected it was psychological, I also couldn't rule out my advancing age.  I knew that I felt better then I had in years while I worked there.  When I quit, I reverted back to the way I had felt before.  Yesterday was like a shot of adrenaline.

I'm still feeling good in the "afterglow" of the experience.  Strange, strange, strange.