24 hours

I can't believe I'm leaving TOMORROW!  This spring has flown by, and now that my mare is settled in at the farm in Durham where she will be in training, and I have done all the things I need to do, all that is left is packing.  

Yesterday I had several portrait sessions, and I wanted to share a few of the resulting photos. 

Striking a balance

Today is one of those days of pure joy that can never seem to come around often enough.  Despite being in the middle of exams, today I was able to escape to the barn and just enjoy my horse.  Its easy to get caught up in the day to day struggles of work work work, but today as I stood in the barn aisle and Aston rested her head on my shoulder, it was like nothing else in the world existed.  It seemed like the heat had drained her already a bit so I thought today would be a good day to find out if she was willing to go on the trails by herself.  If you had told me two months ago that I'd be able to do this, I would have told you that you were crazy.  My little mare has beyond exceeded my expectations, and yes I have fallen in love with her. She's curious, engaging, and has so much personality. She's far from perfect, but she's mine, and that's good enough for me.  

There were a lot of moments on the trail when she stopped and asked me "mom, are you SURE you want to do this? Like really really sure?" and I'd say, yes I'm sure, but we can do it when you are ready.  And then she'd turn her head back, look at me and say "Well.... if you're sure....." and then walk forward where I wanted her to go.  I've found that she really does want to please, and doesn't want to be bad, but she needs the confidence from me to have confidence in herself.  We are able to build off of each other's strengths to accomplish our goals.  

I'm both excited and nervous to send her away for a month.  I'm nervous that the trainer isn't going to like her.  I know where she started, so I know how far she has come, but I also know that had she not had a bad start, she could be farther along.  Right now I would say though that she has less than 60 days under saddle, even though I have owned her for almost 4 months (4 months next Monday).  The first two months don't really count as much of the work we did was correcting physical issues and training issues.  Now we are moving way beyond where she has ever been.  Thursday I'm scheduled to have a lesson with the woman who will be working with her during the month of June, and I can only hope she comes home with an even more solid foundation, and learns even more than I have started to teach her.  

Cameras are ordered!

Today I finished ordering the cameras for the boys in Honduras.  I'm still designing the workshop set up I want to use to garner interest in the course we will be teaching in the fall, but for now at least I know I will have the proper equipment!  I will have 4 Canon XS's for the boys to share, and my own 7D to document the journey.  12 days and counting!  This coming week I'm heading up to Virginia to meet with the President of the ProNiño USA board, and possibly a few others, about the projects I will be completing while I'm down there.  I'm very excited!

A message on life from Spain

The following is an excerpt from a message from my closest friend over in Spain.  I traveled with her, got to know her, and found that we share many of the same ideals about the world.  Last night I sent her an email congratulating her on the scholarship she received to go study in Berlin.  Like me, Carolina has a concentration in Social Work and is also quite preoccupied with the state of the world.  At the bottom is the email received, if anyone would rather not read the translation. 

"Kelsey, the world is indeed a strange place, this morning I was thinking exactly that...  and I loved getting your message that corroborates my thoughts.

The strange thing is everything and these complexities are inherent in us human beings. Knowing ourselves, internalizing, being in stillness.  We need to carry a total certainty, to reach deep down inside of ourselves, to close wounds in order to control our emotions when we get hurt... And its difficult when we live in this crazy world where everything is a lie. Magic and creativity is the only reality, the energy of our body, and what intuition tells us...

Video of Aston

I just figured out how to post videos into the blog!  Fun.  I'm going to share the latest video of Aston (from last week).  

I have also been spending a lot of time thinking about central America and immigration.  Some thoughts on some of the nuances I've noticed are to come. 

I love the USA military

Facing a brave new world: Meagan Harrison

All that is Gold does not (necessarily) Glitter
by Meagan Harrison

Kelsey is probably expecting me to write something about how everyone should get the chance to go abroad, volunteer, and see the world as much as they can before they die, get old, or run out of money. And given the title of my own blog  “I’m giving you warning, baby: We’ve got a whole big fat world to see,” one would certainly be validated in expecting me to write something that makes you want to quit your job/drop out of school, sell all your possessions, and get on a plane to live in a third world country for a few years, or hey, maybe travel for the rest of your life. (Of course, I would whole-heartedly support this adventurous decision!) But instead, this entry gives a bit of insight into the way the other half of my brain thinks...it is in no way a plea for complacency, but a challenge to find meaning and purpose wherever you are.

I’ll start with a quote from one of my favorite authors.

"And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time." -Donald Miller

I have done a lot of things and lived a lot of good stories that have made me “abnormal.” I have done a lot of traveling, a lot of volunteering, a lot of exploring. I have met and “helped” people in countries from North and Central America, to Europe, to Asia and the South Pacific. However, I often think about the connections I've made with individuals and entire communities, and the things that I have done while I was in each place and question: Was it enough?