When You Least Expect It

Everyone is searching for something. The perfect job, that new purse (the-one-you-only-caught-a-glimpse-of-and-can't-remember-really-what-it-looked-like-but-in-your-minds-eye-it-was-beautiful), the perfect barrel horse, your perfect match. The list is really endless.

But lets focus for a minute on the last one. Today I was going around catching up on my blog reading. Ana From Far Away! posts Surrendering to the World - she has a list of things but at the end she talks about the opportunity to meeting someone new (or missing the opportunity). After which she states, "Sometimes when you stop trying, is when everything kind of settles..."

As I have also been stressing to my dear friend Hollywood lately, when you stop looking is when you really find what you are looking for. That is a fact. Not sure why, but it seems to be some unspoken law of nature. Every relationship I have had has come along when I least expected it, Marine not being an exception. I gave a brief summary before on the night which seemed to be our starting point but perhaps I should go into a little more detail so as to support my theory.....

Friday July 3rd, 2009

Horse shows every night for a week. Going to bed between 2 and 3 a.m. getting up a little before 7 a.m. so that I could feed horses and be to work on time.... so sleep was a distant memory by this point. Friday July 3rd was no different (except I had taken the day off work). I had camped out at the show with Vixen. We had stayed up till nearly 4. When the alarm sounded at 6 I knew it would be a long day. I quickly got up and threw on my clothes from the day before and tried to make my way out of the maze that was the camper without waking Vixen's parents or her younger sister.


As I softly closed the door the sun's rays were just becoming visible over the mountain. I walked down the row of campers till I came to the one that belonged to the boys (the boys = friends as well members of my saddle club). I knock on the door...... nothing..... I knock again..... nothing.... I wait a few moments and then bang, rather than knock on the door. This time I hear a stirring from within. Blondie's brother (one of the boys) opens the door sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Crap I slept thru my alarm," he mutters.

Great. Just great. As he goes to wake up the other two I head to the barn to load their horses on the trailer. We were cutting it close anyway. We have to be on the other side of the mountain to my house and ready to go by 8:00..... it is close to 7 when the four of us pile into the truck. I want... no make that I NEED a shower. But as we pull into the barn at 7:40 I know it just isn't going to happen. I rush to the house just long enough to throw on clean clothes, brush my teeth, spray on some body splash, and pull my hair in a ponytail as I high tail it out the door.

It is the boys fault that we were late therefor it was only fair when I arrived at the barn and they had Horse saddled and ready for me. I have just enough time to slide the bit in Horse's mouth and swing on as Blondie's Brother throws my stuff into his saddle bags. Where are we going you ask at 8 in the morning? Oh just on a 20 mile trail ride..... ever ride 20 miles on a horse in July? Yeah it takes about 6 hours and its hot. But its tradition.

This was just the start of the day. Once back across the mountain at the show grounds I bathe Horse, because she comes first. Then I head to the camper where I have time to rinse off in the shower. There is no time to wash and fix my hair before the parade. But I attempt to. Attempt being the key word here. Not my finest moment. But the Fourth of July Parade is about to start and there just isn't time.

The parade lasts about an hour. After which I feed horse. Grab a quick bite to eat then head to the arena for the show. Which I am also in. Can you tell it was a busy day?

Now this is where my previous post picks up.

I never expected Marine to be there that night. Not in a million years. I mean yes I had had a crush on him for a few months but I really didn't expect anything to come of it. But fate can be funny sometimes. When you least expect it is when it tends to knock.

And I mean really I know how bad I looked that night covered in dust and sweat. If he liked me then looking like that and definitely in my element as he stood on the sidelines and watched me barrel race, then I knew he was a keeper.

When you least expect it that's when you find what your looking for.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
~ Paulo Coelho ~