Whew!  What a weekend it has been and we still have one more day to go.  The past three days have felt like one of the giant rollercoasters at Busch Gardens except I’m blindfolded and can’t tell what is coming next.  Why do you ask has life been like a rollercoater?  Well let me fill you in on the goings on about town:

The weather has been unpredictable this winter.  Last weekend we were in the high 60s, we then had rain for five days ending with the threat of 6-8 inches of snow.  Luckily the weather forecasters got it wrong and all we received was some sleet and wet snowflakes mixed in with the rain.  We then had winds worthy of the Great Lakes, temperatures in the 20s, and then back into the 50s today.  Tomorrow there is a chance of snow showers with the high Tuesday predicted to be 24 degrees.  I vaguely remember one rollercoaster that gave me whiplash.  This weather pattern reminds me of that ride.

There is a rollercoaster at Busch Garden’s that Fabio rode years ago.  Yes, that Fabio, the one with the flowing hair and lack of shirt.  Anyway, the coaster made the climb to the top and as it descended, a bird hit him smack in the face and gave him a bloody nose.  I haven’t had a bloody nose, but I sure do feel like I’ve been smacked around after attempting to adopt a rescue dog.  One group took 8 days to deny our application, smack number one.  Another only allows you to meet dogs for a few hours on Saturday afternoon.  Yet another wants your social security number…why not just ask for my bank account numbers and passwords as well.  I didn’t even let them take a swat.  I just looked elsewhere.  We finally have a hopeful meeting tomorrow.  All paws and hooves and fingers are crossed that we don’t get smacked again and end up with a black eye.

One thing you can say about rollercoasters is that if you ride the same coaster 100 times, the ride will be the same every time.  The same speed, the same tempo, the same turns, the same loops.  Consistency is there.  When riding Ike, we do not yet have that consistency from ride to ride.  On Friday, our trot was steady, but our canter was a bit strung out.  During our lesson on Saturday, our trot rhythm was a bit more erratic (that is because Ike’s rider was not sharp with her half halts), our left lead canter was First Level quality, and the right lead canter was Marmaduke-like.  Today, our canter would have only been acceptable on a cross country course with no jumps.  I remind myself that Ike is only 4 years old.  F-O-U-R.  Expecting the ride to be the same every day is setting the bar way to high.  That is our goal, but it could be years before we get there.  If I were a stronger rider, we might get there sooner, but since I can’t change my skill set with the wrinkling of my nose, we will just keep plucking along.

And one last thought about this rollercoaster ride…once a coaster is built it doesn’t continue to grow.  Ike on the otherhand, is growing like a weed fed by MiracleGro.  Good thing I’m not afraid of heights!

alison