Wasn’t Feelin’ It This Summer

It’s hard to believe summer is almost over. It feels like it went by sooo fast this year. I guess that’s just because I had so much fun. This summer is the first summer in a long time that I’ve taken off from doing horse related activities. I started Spring off thinking I wanted to get Gracie ready to run at some local shows during the summer but quickly realized she wasn’t quite ready for that and honestly, I was tired of worrying about her being able too. So instead of spending my time worrying over whether I would get to show or not, I just decided this summer was the perfect time to take time off from horses and focus on other things that I enjoy in life. I really and truly just wasn’t feeling riding. It had become too much of a chore and wasn’t fun.

I realized this year that I really have missed being on the lake and wake boarding. There’s something that feels so good about being on a boat cruisin’ across the water to the hang out spot and just hanging out with friends. This year we spent a few weekends with Tory’s brother and sister-in-law out on the lake in their boat and it made us both want a boat of our own. It’s the first thing we both have found that we both actually like to do and do together. His brother taught me how to wake surf which was awesome. I got up on my very first attempt and was letting go of the rope by my third time up. I’ve decided next year I’m going to continue to improve those skills. I did wake board some but ended up getting a concussion from trying to land a jump one to many times, so hung up the wake board after that. I’m sure I’ll be breaking it out again next year but no more for this year. Those headaches are killer!

Not only did we spend time at the lake this summer but we also spent a few weekends at the beach. Normally I wouldn’t consider myself a beach person because I genuinely hate the sand and ocean. I don’t like how sand sticks to every part of your body, I don’t like swimming in the ocean because yes I’ve watched too many shark episodes and I’m scared one will eat me – and I know with my luck it could happen- and I really don’t like being crowded on the beach with people sitting/laying right beside you. I love going to the beach for the atmosphere and things to do, I just prefer to stay somewhere with a pool so I can stay at the pool and layout. However, this year I spent more time on the beach then I ever have and I will admit it wasn’t as bad as I remembered. It helped having an umbrella to sit under when it got to hot and having a chair to sit in instead of sand. The beers I had to drink probably helped a lot too. I will continue to stay out of the ocean though. But who knows, I might end up being more of a beach person next year then I was this year.

Another big reason why I didn’t ride much this summer is because I made a pact with myself to workout more and start getting healthier. I wanted and still want to get fit. I’ve never been truly in shape in my life and never have felt 100% comfortable in my own skin. I always have found some issue with myself. When I would ride English and show, I HATED wearing riding pants because I didn’t want anything that tight showing off my legs, butt, and gut. I felt soooo uncomfortable that I was self-conscience the whole time I was wearing them. So in January I started working out every day and changed my diet. I cut out a lot of the “bad” foods I was eating and started to eat healthier. It really paid off too because I started to feel great about myself. I wore a bathing suit with confidence this year when I was on the lake and at the beach. I wanted to show off the definition in my legs and my arms. I like the way my butt was starting to look in jeans and in my bathing suit..it actually looked like I had a cute round butt. I really was proud of myself for what I was accomplishing by working out and I put it at the top of my priority list.

Unfortunately, working out has been pushed on the back burner recently because of getting super busy working around the farm and also because I got sick again. *whomp whomp* I got bit by a couple ticks over the last month and started to get the same symptoms as I did when I got Rocky Mount Spotted Fever a few years back. Luckily though, I recognized the symptoms right away and got to the doctor much sooner this time and have started on medicine. Hopefully, I’ll get over it faster and not have the lasting effects of it like I did before. If you pray, then please say a pray or ten for me. I could use it.

Anyway, I don’t want this post to be super long so I’ll wrap it up now. I’d love to hear what fun things you did this summer? Are you a lake or beach person? Any fellow wake surfers out there?
Have you ever taken time off from riding? Did something happened that made you want to take time off or did it just happen? How did you get back into it? I think I’ve got to figure out what I can do to make it fun again and not feel like a chore.

Here’s Scotty’s video “Feelin’ It”. Since this song helped to spark this post, it was only appropriate for me to post it. Excuse me while I go sing and dance to it. 🙂