I have just spent the last 3 days enjoying the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received.

I just spent 3 days on my friend’s ranch down by the Kern River, riding as many horses as I could manage while The Bean chased the DragonMonkey around. I probably logged almost 20 hours in the saddle in 3 days.

How blessed am I? Three days of zero responsibility for the DragonMonkey. Three days of no cooking and no cleaning. Three days of complete freedom to spend as much time as I could possibly desire with horses of all shapes, sizes, and training.

C’mon. Admit it. You’re jealous. You guys all wish you and a Bean of your own, don’t you?

I’m exhausted, I can barely walk, and by yesterday evening I needed people to push my butt if I wanted to be able to step up into the horse trailer tack room.

My sweat-stained, crunchy jeans are growling at me from my battered duffel bag, and if I don’t take care of them soon, they’re probably going to come to life and march their own way into the laundry basket. I keep putting it off, because every once in awhile when I walk by the hamper I can smell horse, and it puts a smile on my face.

I haven’t been this happy or this content since before the DragonMonkey was born. What is it about horses that’s so addictive? Do they secretly roll around in heroin while our backs are turned? Whenever I visit my friend I always joke that I’m “jonesing” and that I’m “there to get my fix”… but in all reality, it’s not that far from the truth.

At any rate, I’m satiated for the moment. I’ll post all about my fun experiences in a bit.