Tracy of Fly On Over
posted this last week and I thought it was such a good idea, so I’m
glad she turned it into a blog hop! It’s interesting to see what a
typical day in everyone else’s life is like, especially since we all
share in the same struggle of trying to balance horses, work, and life.
Here’s what a typical day for me looks like:
5:20 am: The alarm goes off. J hits the snooze for herself and I disentangle myself from the dogs. Skittle stretches and nuzzles me as I try to fight myself clear of blankets and dog legs. The little black kitten trots off the bed and Lily launches herself in pursuit. I pull myself out of bed and stumble to the bathroom.
5:20 - 5:35 am: I sit on the toilet with the little black kitten purring and demanding attention on my lap, while I check my text messages, facebook and emails. Lily plays peek-a-boo with the kitten, who alternatively swats at her nose and tail marks me, murring in demand for attention. J finally gets out of bed, gathers the dogs and heads downstairs. The kitten follows her and I am able to move.
5:35 am: I put in my contacts then climb in the shower.
5:55 am: I get dressed and do my hair, then head downstairs to fix meals. J gets breakfast and lunch in her box: carnation breakfast drink and milk for breakfast, sometimes with a muffin or bagel, leftovers for lunch or on occasion a frozen meal, with snacks and a drink for lunch. T gets a sandwich, chips, fruit and a drink for lunch, or sometimes leftovers to heat in the microwave at school. (He hasn't had school lunch since first grade.) I pack leftovers and fruit for myself. Then I make breakfast for T and I: bacon or sausage, plus some kind of carb (waffles, hashbrowns, toast, muffins, occasionally hot cereal for me). As breakfast is cooking, I run downstairs and fill Ashke's mash bucket with TC Senior, TC Omega Max, Amplify, Equipride, joint supp and Lysine. Then I come up and add a pound or so of carrots cut into chunks, one or two pieces of which I have to share with Skittle.
6:20 am: Holler at T to come and eat. Breakfast is served with OJ. I run through my blog list while we eat and he watches YouTube videos.
6:40 - 6:45 am: Load dishwasher and straighten kitchen. Check for T's keys in his backpack and load all of the things in the car.
6:45 - 6:55 am: Brush teeth, put on shoes, walk dogs, clean back patio (if time - sometimes J does this), load car, holler at T to get downstairs.
7 am - drive T to school. Then drive the 30 minutes to work
7:30 am - 4:30 pm: I'm an HR manager. I routinely handle questions, manage benefits, manage payroll, answer emails, work on projects, talk football with the CFO, eat lunch, find snacks, attend meetings, field phone calls.
4:30 pm: Leave my desk. On days when I ride, I go to the bathroom to change into riding clothes and then head to the barn. On days when I don't ride, I head to the barn. Either way, I'm usually at the barn at about the same time.
4:45 pm: On days when I ride, I start by giving Ashke some alfalfa, then groom him. Pick his feet. Apply exercise boots and then saddle him up. Finally put his bridle on and lead him to the indoor.
On days when I don't ride, I'll go over him with a shedding comb and soft brush, while he eats his mash. Then I pick out his stall and add shavings to it if necessary.
5:15 pm: I walk around the indoor and then begin our ride. We do w/t/c in both directions, interspersed with long stretchy walks and some standing around time. I try to ride for at least an hour.
On days when I don't ride, I'm on my way home.
5:45 pm: On nights when I don't ride, I get home, walk the dogs and grab T to take him to run.
6:15 pm: On days when I do ride, we are finished with the ride by 6:15 and back in the barn. I pull the bridle and feed Ashke his mash, then pull tack while he's eating. I cover him with the BOT fleece cooler and leave it and the exercise boots on while I wipe down my saddle and pick out his stall. When he is cool and mostly dry, I pull the BOT and blanket him for the night. One last kiss and I'm on my way home.
On the nights that T runs, we are at the gym by 6:15 where I sit and time his run, shouting encouragement and suggestions at his angry face as he runs by.
7 pm: Home again. I start dinner, or help J finish dinner, depending, and we eat. T regales us with stories of the xbox or funny things he saw online. J and I catch up and then peruse social media. After dinner we clean the kitchen while T plugs back in for another hour or so.
8:30 pm: We all head upstairs to camp on the bed and play with the dogs. T and I read, J plays with her apps, the dogs wrestle and play.
9:30 pm: J has usually crashed by this time. I poke and prod T until he is in bed. Then I sit and read or watch videos (Castle is my current obsession) until 10:30 or so. Then I crawl into bed, feel the dogs settle themselves against my back or legs and drift off to sleep.
The mental image of T's angry faces and you giving encouragement put a big smile on my face. I love that you all spend time together each evening. I hope I have a family like that one day.
ReplyDeleteI often wake late at night to my husband watching Castle. Good show. In German, not as good, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteBlogger and/or my phone ate my comment last night so I decided to wait until I was at the computer. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this. I had an idea of how your day goes based on when you text and of course from what you tell me is going on, but it was so cool to fill in the gaps of what typically happens during your day.
I too laughed over the mental picture of T's angry faces with you shouting encouragement. You, J, T and the animals are perfect to me. Your family reminds me so much of my own.
Sounds like a great day!
ReplyDelete