I swear I say that SO many times on a Saturday......
So while I have a great post in the works on my recent trip to Nebraska, I feel as though a few comments about my weekend are in order. First off, after driving back yesterday and arriving early this morning, Amie and I hit the ground running with trail rides. It started off a little slow but the girls finally started arriving at camp for time with their dads. I had quite a few dads recognize me and comment how long I must have been working here. Some remember me from when their oldest daughter had started the princess program. Honestly, about 12,000 retreat guests come through here (on top of 36,000 other guests) and while I do remember a few of them (Chris from Illinois, I remember you and your family better be coming to Family Camp!), they certainly remember me more than I can remember them. But it's fun to be pointed out like that. Also, the dads this weekend seemed SO appreciative, whether it's of the ride, the horses, the extra time we might take to smile or make small talk with them and pay attention to just them for that one moment. And sometimes, it's hard for these dads to stop and slow down and I think a weekend of camp is just what the doctor orders for them. While we go through all the work of making sure they get on and around safely, they get to sit back and enjoy a quiet ride through the Pine Forest with it's tall pines reaching for the bright fall day. It's a give and take but we certainly get a lot out of it too.
Also, it's been fun recently because we've had an awesome young man, Alex, join our crew. He's brought life back to working a long day of rides and Amie and I can't stop singing his praises. He may not be the most skilled in working with the horses, but he's a hard worker, watches Amie and I and then puts it into practice, and has a most fantastic attitude.
And a few moments of humor that need to be recorded before they are lost. Last weekend, during breakfast as I was passing around a napkin to get everyone's snack orders, one of our long time amazing workers Abby wasn't going to let Brandon (a young worker who we had told to come in later in the day) write down his snack because she thought he was working retreats and not with the horses because, "I didn't see you tacking up with me." He's pretty particular about getting his snack and she wasn't going to let him have the napkin. Soon Franki joined in and poor Brandon wasn't going to get to write down his order. He looked like a puppy dog who'd just been beat. Once I stopped laughing, I let him write it down. I had never laughed so much at breakfast. Then today, as Alex was having a little trouble getting Arden bridled, Franki comes in and asks if she can help. She slips the bridle on Arden then looks over at Alex and says, "See, it wasn't that hard." and walks away all sassy like. Poor Alex. As he walked away, I told him that when she had started working with us, she was quiet and shy. Alex remarks, "Well, something happened." I told him he was allowed to hit her for her next sassy comment....we almost had a WWF contest after lunch. These guys make me laugh!
So that was my Saturday. Sunday is going to be CRAZY with 2 girl scout troops coming in but I have faith in my crew. Trail ride days are hard physically and just can get monotonous and be rough. I'm reminded that a lot of it is in my attitude and then I try to meet the day head on. Then I get to meet some cool dads and be a small part of their lives and also be a part of my worker's lives. So all in all, not a bad day's work.
No comments:
Post a Comment