Thanks-Taking 2011

Happy Holidays my brethren! This year has been fast and furious if nothing else, (be honest - how many people fell in love with boys in 2001 that had acura integras or honda civics with body kits and NOS? was that just me?)  and alas - winter is fast approaching. In case you don't have a calendar, just check the thermometer - oh wait, that would probably indicate that it is late spring.

I thought I would take a moment during my office hours of bill generating and florida planning and turn down my P.Diddy and the Bad Boy Family Pandora radio station to reflect for a moment in the most private and personal way - social media.

This year has been one of learning and growth for myself, my team, and I also feel the eventing family as a whole. I find myself constantly developing and growing into who I am in this sport, a head groom, a rider, a manager, and trying to achieve as many cameo appearances on eventing nation as possible.

I also am trying to find a place for my non-horsey side of life - trying to commit to running and health, (then quickly ruining my hard work when baby sarah brings home cheesecake from Walmart - fresh- ) and visiting friends from home and college as much as possible as their lives have all taken such a different track. I have stopped trying to explain exactly what I do to my friends - mostly because by the time I feel like I have given my job description justice, my friends -who are moms, dads, political media buyers, managers, CEOs, stock brokers, DoD, teachers, photographers, social workers, and government contractors, tend to be politely doodling, texting, or facebooking, maybe even all at the same time. (or they get that distant smile...you know what I am talking about!)  But if they take anything from my failed attempts of describing my sport in layman terms, they unanimously reply "you at least are doing something you love".  - which, is true.

I tend to spend most of my down time going to weddings, funerals, and baby showers, and while I have no desire anytime soon to get married, die, or procreate - seeing my bffs go through all the normal rites of passages helps me truly appreciate what  I do and what I have. I still get to see how my life would be or could be if I decided to change paths. And I do miss it sometimes, the normal life, but I know from the bottom of my heart, I would miss this more. (that and, if I still worked in political media with the amount of free food and wine and liquor and presents...I would probably be 564 pounds)

I know a lot of you were born into this, but there are some of us that were just following a feeling. kind of like that scratch on the weird part of your shoulder blades that is impossible to reach? heres to those people that go against the grain in whatever you do, even if all signs are saying 

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and heres to the people that believe in them! (special shout out to dana romano and kristin michaloski for helping me get my own operation underway)

and heres to PDIDDY and the BADBOYFAMILY radio station and my homies I don't get to see enough!