Cisco

I moved in November and haven't ridden my horse, Cisco, since then. He was just far enough away that it made getting to his stable to ride difficult. This Saturday, he moves to his new home, which is much closer to me. I can't wait to see him again. The story of how I came to get him is an important one (at least to me) and one I would like to share.

My parents say my first sentence was "I want a pony." Since I got my first pony at 5, I guess I must have said that sentence a lot. Everyone told my parents that all little girls wanted a pony and I would outgrow it. But, I didn't. After I outgrew the first pony, I got another bigger, faster one. Then I got my first horse and later a second one. Then, I went to college. I had grand dreams, as most of us do. I would graduate, get a job, move to a house in the country, take my horse. But, my senior year in college reality set in. I would have to be poor for awhile. Rent places, not live in the country. So, I found a home for my beloved horse, Buck. It just didn't seem fair to have my parents care for him when I would never be around.

But, I told my self, "someday" I'll afford that farm and get a horse again. Flash forward 20 years. My Dad started not feeling well. He had all kinds of strange and changing symptoms. Three hospitals and numerous doctors failed to figure out what was going on. We finally got Dad to the Cleveland Clinic where I first learned of the Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD). One in 2.5 million people get it. That's why no one could diagnose it, plus, you can only really diagnose it with a brain biopsy. There is no cure or treatment. One of the last full sentences that my Dad ever said was, "I thought I would live a long life." He was 62 when he died. Between his first symptom and his death about 45 days had passed.

His sudden death made my brothers and I stop and reevaluate our lives. What if we didn't have much time. What would we regret not doing. My dad regretted he never got that motor home and drove all over the country antiquing. I began to think more about my horse. What if 'someday' never came? What if I never got that place in the country?

I began looking at the cost of A. buying a horse and B. boarding a horse. Boarding turned out to be within my budget. As I was trying to figure out where to come up with the money to buy a horse, I went to an auction and happened upon a box of vintage felt advertising pennants. Included in the box was a 1912 Indianapolis 500 pennant. I threw it up on eBay thinking I might get a few hundred dollars. It ended at $1,500, the same night I got a call from a friend of a friend who heard I was looking for a horse. He had one for $1,200. That was Cisco.

I'm not into horse shows or events. I just like to go out and get on Cisco and ride around the country looking at the sights. He may not be the best trained horse and I may not be the best rider, but together we have fun.

It's been almost seven years since Dad died and six and a half years since I got Cisco. I still try and live my life for today and try not to put off things for tomorrow. So many people have their dreams and for one reason or another they never fulfill them. So, stop today and ask yourself what you would most regret not doing with your life and then see if you can do it. You'll be glad you did.
Connie