Time is not on our side.

Exhaustion.

It's really amazing what the human body can be put through and not only survive but get stronger. It's amazing how our bodies heal and how they regenerate. It's amazing how exhausted we can be one day, but with proper rest we'll be energetic.

It's also kinda annoying when you haven't had time to relax.

Since my Riding Instructor (RI) has a broken arm, I've been helping out more whenever I'm down that way. So four days a week I now have a required amount of work to do instead of the volunteer basis I used to do it on. This doesn't bother me too much in itself, since she would much rather not have a broken arm and not have to depend on me. But it still drains a portion of my time.

My one barn friend broke her patella in two and is laid up for at least 8 weeks. Well her daughter (C) still needs to ride to get ready for a show, so I've been picking her up and dropping her off 2-3 days a week, since I'm going there anyway and her house is mostly on my way. The time this takes is really only 10-15 minutes tops additional travel time, but it's still less. Plus there are other little things (like having to help her at the barn and minor things like that). More time drained.

Plus, when driving in the car with C, we always sit in silence pretty much. Now, I don't mind sitting in silence in the car, since I'm usually alone in a car, but I wonder if I should make conversation. What is the etiquette? Who's duty is it to keep conversation going, the driver or the passenger? In addition, C is 14 years old, so her answers tend to be succinct and not involved. This leads to very short conversations. I'm hoping this also means she doesn't mind driving in silence (and that she doesn't mind my music). This doesn't take time, but it creates an "out of my comfort zone" mood too often in a drive that I usually use for mind-wandering exploration.

I've been getting ready for a horse show, which is joyfully over (and I won't go into it). I'm hoping maybe I'll get a little bit more time back, or at least not have to be focused on actually getting things done when I am at the barn. It's amazing the difference when you're riding to prepare for a show versus just riding to improve. There shouldn't be one, but there is, and I can't say I like it all that much.

My friend's bachelorette party was last night, and was over all fun. But it was just one more thing on my long list of time-consuming things and I think it broke this camel's back a little. I was up at 7:15 to get to the barn, etc, and then had addition show preparation duties, got home around noon, collapsed without sleeping, showered, had a few hours to relax and do things that needed to get done before heading out.

I got home around 1:30(?) and then woke up the next morning for the show at 7:15. I really miss 8 hours of sleep. I guess it doesn't seem like much, but every weekend, every day, every moment seems to be filled with something, and when it's not, I'm either too exhausted to focus, too unmotivated to do what needs done (read: dishes), or not willing to start something that will be interrupted.

Thank you for listening to my ramblings....