Big Changes!

What’s that saying? Out of every adversity comes an equal or greater…  Closed doors, opened windows… silver linings…? Silver lined doors? Insulated doors and open windows?  While it seems like I don’t have a complete grasp on inspirational quotes, I’m thinking you know what I’m trying to say. Everyone at this point seems to know about all of the bad moments I have had in the past year. Today I’m really excited to finally get to share some great moments instead!

In early June, I was given the opportunity to travel overseas to do a little shopping. Although I wasn’t completely ready to go (mentally, at least) everyone around me seemed to think it would be a great experience for me. Boyd and Phillip connected me with their contacts in France, Ireland and Germany so off I went. If you ever want to test your resilience and ability to function without sleep try dealing with a tragedy and then immediately leaving for a whirlwind trip that starts in Paris. The French really know how to enjoy life and definitely know how to pull a girl out of a bad mood! It didn’t take too many days of riding all day, eating and drinking all night, three hours of sleep, then repeat to put me in a place of giddy exhaustion. The entire trip from beginning to end was filled with caring strangers who immediately became wonderful friends as they extended themselves in every way to make my trip fantastic.

I came back from the experience in a much better frame of mind, although exhausted, and ready to buckle down and start rebuilding. I had moved into a new apartment the day I left for Europe and so still had a tiny bit of organizing to handle. I had seen a few horses that had caught my eye and had a bit of financing to figure out. And, it was just time to start life again! Best-laid plans… right?

So, instead of doing all of the above, I’ve decided to move to Ireland! Wait, what, you say? Its okay, go ahead and re-read that sentence again. It’s true. I’ve decided its time to have my next big adventure, and look at what’s popped up! One of the wonderful people I met in Ireland was Carol Gee. A few weeks after I returned to the States, she called to offer me the opportunity to join her team as her Head Rider. How can a girl say no?! A great stable, some great horses, and Ireland!

As usual, now that I’ve decided to do something, I see no reason to do it slowly. So I’ve given myself two weeks to finish up here, pack everything up, travel around a bit to give some kisses and hugs and then off I go. Should be no problem, right? Let’s all stay optimistic, ‘k?

At this point, I’d like to close this post with an inspirational quote about changes being good for the soul. That’s clearly not going to be successful, so you will just have to imagine it instead. I’m off to pack!