A Parade and a Miracle

It was not the best day for a parade. Not the worst, but not the best. Cold, with a misting rain.

Of course given the conditions in other areas I feel silly whining about 50 degrees.

Here at the lake there are three little towns surrounding the lake. Sattler, Startzville and Canyon Lake. Fourth of July parade is in Startzville, Christmas is in Sattler.

In the last two years a 'lake only' high school opened up and now we have a marching band and drill team for our parade. Almost as cool as when we got a second traffic light in Startzville.

But I've always loved seeing the horses in the parade the most. And this time I was part of the crew. No riding, though. I was riding in the back of our truck as poop patrol.

I wasn't riding Lily because we had two elves in the back of the truck and someone had to make sure they didn't fall. Sierra, in the meantime, was on the Girl Scout float (which was quite a production in itself).

So, shovel in hand, we prepared for the parade.

If you've ever been in a parade you know there's a lot of waiting around. And in the foggy morning behind the school, with horses covered in tinsel and bows, I was given a tiny little miracle.


Here's the whole crew:

Davy and Kelly on Amigo and Chico.
You could set a firework off under
Chico and that horse would
not spook.

Our Barn Owner and Endurance rider
Donna on her lesson mare, Treasure.

Anisha on Diego.
Diego is a great horse
even if he hates getting
in a trailer.

Lucinda on Cody,
another old reliable gelding.
And my miracle horse.

Nancy on Shiloh.
Shiloh is a 26 year old
gelding. We worry about him,
he is so hard to keep weight on.

Then, suddenly our elves decided to venture out
and see the horses. Mireya hasn't wanted to
be anywhere near a horse since her fall from
Canyon. She hasn't been willing to even
pet a horse since that day. The two
times I took her to the stables she
stayed in the car.



I've been despondent about it. There
didn't seem to be anyway to get her
through this, even though her own
drawings sometimes show her
riding a horse.

Specifically Canyon.

But she was with her best friend.
Sometimes we are brave with our
friends, certainly braver than with
our mom.

Then there they were, petting Treasure on the shoulder.

Then they went over to meet Cody. Cody
is DEAD broke. An incredible old
gelding.

And apparently, a miracle worker.

Because after petting Cody, Lucinda offered
to let Mireya's friend sit in the saddle.

Then...

Mireya got ON Cody.

She got on a horse.

And I have hope.

Horses don't have to be her thing.
But I don't want her scared of them.

Maybe we're going to get there...

When you are IN the parade, your view is
a little different.

It was wonderful to shout Merry Christmas to all our
friends and neighbors who turned out in the
lousy weather, to wave to the kids, see Santa
and cheer for the pooper scoopers...

We offered everyone free fertilizer, but
no one took us up on it. Odd.


The fog had only partly risen from the hills...

Our parade was done. And the streets of
Sattler remained clean.

:)

Note: Mireya posted about her accomplishment on her blog. :)