The first two blogs on fear came effortlessly, but this one did not, hence the delay in writing it. I've been thinking about my experiences with fear and how to "wrap" up my thoughts on this complex emotion. I've concluded that there isn't a way to "wrap" this topic in a neat package. The feeling of fear will rise and ebb based on things I experience and my thoughts about those happenings. It's up to me to acknowledge the emotion, allow it space, and recognize when I'm contri

Some people face a lot of loss in the form of death in their life while others face comparatively little. I fall in the latter camp. As the decades pass, it has not gone unnoticed that I'm fortunate in this regard. I've lost my great grandparents, my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and a first cousin who was only 18 years old when he passed away. He suffered from cystic fibrosis his entire life. Still, he lived a vibrant life thanks to my incredible aunt and uncle, who

It was going to be a busy day for Rudy and me. Portsmouth Living magazine was profiling me as their person of interest for the September 2021 edition. A professional photographer was coming to the barn to take pictures of us. The hope was to capture the essence of our relationship as well as Rudy's connection with children. I arrived at the barn at 8 a.m. to start preparations. My close friend Allison was due to arrive at 9 and the photographer at 9:30. Our goal was to get fi

I went to a horse clinic earlier this month. The title was Compassionate Connection, and the instructor was Heidi Potter. If someone walked into the room, they never would have guessed we were in a horse clinic. Heidi started by suggesting we give our worry up to a higher faith. We discussed breathing patterns, that the inhale brings energy and the exhale brings calm. She introduced us to Brené Brown’s 7 Super Tips. For example, empathy is the antidote to shame. Heidi told us

A year ago this month, Rudy and I were going through a rough patch. He had developed stomach ulcers and it took a few months for me to figure out that this was the cause of a variety of unwanted and uncharacteristic behaviors in him. In the recent weeks, he had started bucking when he was asked to canter under saddle. He offered to kick if I so much as grazed my hand over his flank and he had an excessively sore back. A series of events left me with little confidence in me, h