Taking Care of Each Other

Yesterday was the first time in many months that I was able to really hang out with Silk and Siete and enjoy the warm sun.  As the Big Melt begins, the challenge is to keep our poor old barn from flooding once again.  Yes, my friend Sam is going to fix the drainage and make this problem go away when the ground thaws, but we are weeks away from that.  Siete’s stall is oozing up brown water, and I’ve been pouring bags of wood pellets into it each day, hoping to dam up the flood until at least next week when my husband will be back home.  In my overzealous shoveling, I have really tweaked my back so I am very mindful that I need to go slow and take lots of time as I try to keep Siete’s bedroom dry enough for her to sleep in it each night.

I just stood with the girls in the sun, not feeling the need to tell them anything or to do anything. We stayed together for a long time, and I felt their peace and happiness, helping to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.  I thought about how I recently had my Tarot cards read by a very gifted woman named Laura, who is remarkably psychic.  She talked to me a lot about the horses, who were very present in my cards, and asked me to show her a photo of Silk.  I found one on my phone and handed it to her.  Laura held her palm over it and began to communicate with Silk.  Tears started to roll down her cheeks.  She said, “That’s so beautiful. I asked Silk about you and she told me, ’We take care of each other”.  So true, we have been doing that for over 18 years now.

And as I absorbed the warmth, standing between my two horses with one hand on each of their backs to ground me, at one point, my monkey mind stirred up some worry about the rain that is predicted for Saturday, and where was all this dirty snow and water going to go.  My thoughts were interrupted by a voice in my head that I’ve come to recognize as Silk’s.  My horse told me, “You know how to do this. You will figure it out and we will be okay.” I relaxed and stopped thinking.

At night, as I climbed into bed, slowly easing my aching back down, I remembered that my daughter will be home for Spring break, and my neighbor’s strong, young son will come over to help us, and I am so lucky that they both are willing and able to face whatever happens with me when the rain comes. As Silk says, “We take care of each other.”