It was nice this morning to be able to share with my FBFs when a Mallard landed on our pool this morning without his mate. They’ve been a visiting couple for several days in a row, and it concerned me to notice him alone. Frank was busy at an all-day Expo, my daughter was busy doing a heartfelt favor for a dear friend, and my sons would have probably rushed over with a shotgun. So I posted FB updates regularly (when the duck napped with his beak under a wing and again when he started quacking like crazy) until he finally flew off alone. Final post said, “I hope he finds his mate and she says to him, “Silly, we agreed on this pool for today, not that one. I thought you’d never show up. What a relief!” Hug, hug.

To illustrate mindset let me point out that every time I see a sign that says "House For Sale" I read "Horse For Sale." Every time I see a cosmetics ad that says "Cover Girl" I read "Cowgirl." Our mindset influences our perception of reality. Become aware of yours in order to make choices that work for you. Studies have recently shown that happiness is 50% hereditary and 50% learned. This means that if you tend to have a negative view as a result of heredity or conditioning or both, you can work at changing that by unlearning what you have learned, teaching yourself to imagine a positive outcome to a problem. Whether it materializes or not isn’t the point. It’s your mindset that matters. One unhappy thought starts you in the wrong direction, whereas a happy thought turns you in the right direction. Your body chemistry and brain chemistry actually adjust to reflect imagery. Right now I’m imagining those two ducks reunited somewhere (other than a pot of soup) and I’m hoping they’ll return together soon to reassure me of their well being -- ideally, before we drain the pool to pressure clean it and fill it with fresh water. Last year we had a pair of ducks return when the pool was empty. It was kind of funny watching them waddling around the edge looking befuddled, peeping over the edge now and then, probably thinking WTD? (The D is for Duck)…

I have reconnected with some old friends on FB, which has been a lot of fun. Even some of my daughter’s friends from school, with whom I share happy memories. Like the first time Jenn hit the baseball in a game and got so excited she forgot to run to first base. And while I'm ratting on my daughter, she called me recently and told me she is pregnant. After my automatic reaction she said, "April Fools!" I said ha... ha... ha... The next day she called again to say, "Guess the joke's on me. It seems I really am pregnant." She is excited beyond description, having always been determined to have four children. This will be her fourth and she's been chanting, "I'm done! I'm done!" Another joke on her... she'll never be "done," and I hope I live long enough to watch her raise four teenagers!

I also posted a brief video of my grandson from Texas riding a bull in the LaGrange rodeo. This is his 8^th year as a pro, and of course he’s always getting hurt, but last Sunday was in a category all its own. He was unconscious for 8 minutes, and I stood at the fence as close to him as I could. All I could see were his legs lying there limp. The incident doesn’t look nearly as dramatic on the video as it did “live” but those bull riders are crazy! The wilder the ride, the more their pride! He went by ambulance to the trauma unit of the nearest hospital. When I was told the brain scan showed “nothing” I said, “Well, that explains why he rides bulls.” He was alive and talking (more or less) so I resorted to humor to lighten the load that was weighing us all down. I took pictures of his experience because I knew he would want them, but the most vivid picture is the one in my mind when I thought for 8 minutes he had “died doing what he loved most,” as they so often say at funerals. Before he got to see the rodeo video or photos, he asked me how he looked. I said, “You looked GREAT… until you looked dead…” In all seriousness, he has a broken collar bone, 4 broken ribs, and a cut on one shin that goes to the bone. He’ll probably recover from all this faster than his grandma will… I’m honestly not sure I’ll ever be able to go to another rodeo.

On the subject of critters, we have a plan in place that has Frank and me moving to Hawaii in three-to-five years with my oldest son and his wife when they retire. Sounds heavenly, yes? Except that I cannot take our dog with us because he would die of a broken heart in 2-month quarantine. Seriously. I’m sure my daughter would take him, but no one else can spoil him the way I do. Our cat will probably no longer be… an issue… but what about my horse? I can’t imagine leaving her behind and I certainly can’t take her with me. It’s a dilemma. I would never sell her, and when I think of giving her to a loving person, I realize that’s asking someone else to be there for her at the end of her trail. A huge responsibility. For now when this crosses my mind I change my mindset and focus on spending all the quality time with her that I can, while I can. I’ve decided to ride tomorrow, come rain or come shine, and lots of good riding weather is right around the corner.

Stay safe. Stay well. Stay off bulls!