In the Autumn Air

It was a crisp, clear, Thanksgiving Day. The meal was over and everyone had gone their separate ways, to study, visit on the phone with friends, or sleep in front of the football game. The pie had been delicious this year and the dressing supreme, but, as usual, something was missing. It was anti-climactic. It had taken her mother hours to make this wonderful feast and although they tried to stretch out the conversation around the table, it was over in 30 minutes or less. Everyone was stuffed and sleepy, seemingly content to do very little.

It was excitement she wanted, something wildly fun, perhaps even dangerous! She needed to get out of the stuffy, sleepy house into the cold air and do something exhilarating. "I"m going for a ride, Mom," she said. Dressed warmly, she got in her car and took off. She knew what she wanted to do, but didn't know if she had the courage.

When she arrived at the barn, there was Kitty, waiting for her. The mare nickered and was rewarded with a lump of sugar. A former race horse, Sheza Kitty, still had hot blood in her and she longed to run. Today, she might get her chance. Never before had the teenager allowed Kitty to run her fastest. "I don't even know if I can stay on!" she thought.

Saddled and bridled, the beautiful sorrel with four white stockings stepped out into the blue and gold autumn air. The girl mounted and they were on their way. "If I let her go, I don't know if I can get her stopped. What if she runs into something? What if she trips and falls? What if I fall? " They found a dirt road that stretched for miles, flat and empty. "She's a quarter horse. She'll only run a quarter of a mile before she gets tired." she reminded herself. "Courage!"

Kitty immediately sensed something different about this ride. She gathered her legs under her and took off. The girl urged her on with yells and encouragement. Kitty broke into a run - not a canter, not a gallop, but a run. No... this was more like flying! For the first time, the teenager felt like all the other heroines in the horse stories she so avidly read. She and Kitty were as one. The ride was smooth and soooo fast. It took all her strength, but she knew she could stay on, she could finish the ride. And indeed, Kitty showed her breeding by slowing after a quarter of a mile. They finished the ride in companionable silence, horse and girl satisfied with their performance. The horse felt relaxed and content. The girl knew that she and her horse had, for a moment or two, actually flown in the autumn air! Her joy in this ride, her sense of freedom, speed, and exhilaration was made all the sweeter by her prison-like experience of wearing a body brace for the last three years of her young life. Indeed, this was thanksgiving!

Rococo
photo: www.mooseyscountrygarden.com