The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.
~Oprah Winfrey
In my lifetime, I have had many dreams. Some I have been blessed to live. . . others I have been blessed to forget. Right now, I am living a dream that isn't quite what I thought it would be.
The dream: A cute little farm house with plenty of room for a garden, chickens, a couple of sheep, a llama, a milk cow, and maybe even a couple of horses--out in the country where we can still see the stars at night.
The reality: A very cute little farm house on 25 acres. Apple and pear trees, grape vines, black berries, and PLENTY of room for a huge garden. A huge three (and then some) car shop. An 18 stall horse barn with 120 sq. ft. arena, office, tack room, and hot water wash room. Lots of pasture space. And on a clear night, all the stars anyone could hope for.
The reality also comes with 13 horses currently residing at the horse barn. And boy are those horses a lot of work! They must be grained, fed, and turned out between 7 and 8 every morning. Thirteen stalls must be cleaned, waterers and feeders must be scrubbed, floors must be swept, buckets must be cleaned and refilled, pastures must be picked out, and water troughs must be washed. Horses need lunch by noon, then grained, fed and turned in by 5 every night. Since horses don't take a day off, neither do the girls (who do all the work themselves).
The work is quite physically demanding. But the girls still love it. Well, they LOVE the horses and although they don't get to ride, they are willing to do the work just to be around the horses. Unfortunately, hard work isn't enough. The girls must also try to please the horse owners. That can be tricky.
Additionally, the barn and pastures must be maintained. Water pipes repaired, holes patched, boards replaced, fences mended, and the list goes on and on.
So, this dream didn't turn out like I thought it would. I am thankful for what I have, though. I am learning so much about my family and myself. In the end, life is the real adventure afterall.
