She Rode a Horse

Madison Villa

We are again in Utah juggling spending time with the kids, seeing my mom and conducting a bit of business. Time flies by way to quickly, especially with these visits. We finished up with mom's trust, then took her to shop for new kitchen counters at Lowe's. Ken loves that nitty gritty stuff with picking out marble, matching up patterns for back splashes, etc. I, on the other hand, really don't like doing that. I know what I like and don't like, but hate the process of looking and deciding. So, I turn that stuff over to Ken. We also were able to spend time with Chris, fresh home from somewhere near Bahrain. He's moved his wonderful family back into their beautiful Bountiful home, and it was great seeing (and hugging) his beautiful three girls and chunky monkey boy, Beckham. The girls and I prepared two types of salads, then waited patiently for Eddie to bring up his four beautiful girls. Chris' girls were so excited about seeing Angela and Eddie's girls (all close in age), that they kept having me call and text Eddie to see when he would be arriving. Of course, the squeals of pure delight rang thru the air as Eddie's car pulled up and all seven girls collided, hugged, and walked into the house with their arms wrapped around each other, chattering as fast as they could. It was fantastic. And it reminded me of my cousin Colleen when we were young.

Then today Ken and I drove down to Orem, Utah to spend time with Angela and her family. Angela had been on the road doing networking meetings, but had just arrived home. After we hit an Ihop for dinner (perfect place for little girls to order a fancy pancake decorated with whip cream and fruit), I took Madison shopping. She's 8, will be entering 4th grade in the fall, and has outgrown most of her clothing. And of all the girls, Madison loves to shop with grandma Burgess. And I love taking her shopping. 


With our Target bags in hand, as we hopped into the car Madison was so excited to tell me about riding a horse. "I rode a horse today, grandma!" Then she proceeded to tell me all about it. She was so excited about her horse riding experience, and couldn't wait to share the details with me. I smiled as I listened. Then tonight, after answering all of the biz emails, scheduling and posting meetings and training calls, I looked at a picture of Madison with her horse. It made me smile remembering how excited she was about it, and it took me back to my elementary and junior high days when my sister, brother and I would rent horses for $1 an hour at our cabin there in Pines Ranch.


What a beautiful time that was. And although horribly allergic to animals, I still loved learning to ride and riding those horses every summer. There was one man in particular, Brother Smith, a member of the Tab Choir, who died a long time ago, who had a cabin there in Pines Ranch up the road from us. He was always more than happy to not only saddle up the horses for us to ride, but on many occasions he would ride along with us. He loved taking us on trails we hadn't taken time to explore, and telling us names of the wild flowers along the path, and how the spring was blessed by a General Authority. I loved it. And, I will always treasure the times I had there on those trails with Brother Smith riding the horses, sneezing the entire time, and feeling saddle sore for a day or two after. It was great!


In the morning I will ask Madison more about her horse riding experience. I will take time to do that, and I will listen more closely. You see, it's just so easy to get caught up in daily life and business "stuff". Too many emails, text messaging, and event planning these past few years. It's time to stop, listen, and remember. And, of course, write down these experiences before they slip so far away that we forget the wonderful things we did as we grew up, and the people that added so much to our life. Thank you Madison for helping me stop and remember riding those horses. You made my day.