Old Age Day by Day April 20, 2011

Our younger son stopped by last night after work and stayed for leftovers. His dog is really becoming a part of the family, and our dogs recognize the connection, but our female dog is a bit jealous of our son's attention to him. Anyway, it's nice, a passel of dogs, all with new collars from Hawaii that I brought back with me, looking spiffy. I am fond of our older son and daughter's cats, and our younger daughter's boyfriend has two cats. For a few years, I said I had two grandhorses and 20 grandponies, when my daughter-in-law owned a pony school. She's now sold it, but recently her childhood horse died and soon after one of the ponies, both from old age, and I felt very sad. Our pets are so good to us, so loyal and loving, and it's like an angel leaving our side.

I'm one of those people who loves horses and read every horse book cover to cover as a kid, but I never wanted to ride them, just loved being around them. We leased a pony when the kids were small and later had a horse for 7 years. I never rode, but I talked to her and missed her when we moved. Our older kids both rode for many years, but our son really just loved horses as pets, whereas our daughter liked the riding. The younger two never got the riding bug, but both love animals. Learning to respect and love animals is integral to a good character. I take my foster granddaughter to see the ponies at the old stables, and my granddaughter as well. When she was here recently we spent a lot of time feeding carrots to the ponies, and they were like old friends to me. Our granddaughter was fascinated and nervous, almost letting one feed from her hand at the end, but not quite. Our foster granddaughter overcame her fear at about four, and now can put her little hand out. It's an achievement, slowly won. Trusting a huge animal like that is creating a bond. It fosters empathy. And it says that though they are little, they are big and important in the world, noticed by a large creature with big eyes and teeth. These horses teach difference is not as important as the likeness you can discover.