I originally published this post on December 28, 2013. While I had this conversation with one of my first cousins in Texas after Christmas six years ago, I found his words strangely spoke to me today as a spike in South Carolina coronavirus cases brought the pandemic closer and closer to Pretty and me.
****************************
A year can fly past in a hurry and yet the passage of time, regardless of our perception of its speed, never leaves us unchanged. I was talking to a cousin who called me on Christmas Day to wish me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I appreciated the call and the visit we had. The thousand miles that separated us couldn’t break the ties that bind us through our DNA.
We were talking about the vicissitudes of life, as my daddy used to call them, and Gaylen who has spent over forty years hanging out with cowboys at rodeos in and around the Houston area told me one of their favorite quotes: “The horse you draw is the one you’ll ride.”
I like it. No apologies. No excuses. No whining about why did I get this horse. No wondering about whether this rodeo was one I should’ve signed up for. No mulling over how I ever got to be a cowboy in the first place. It’s now or it’s never – so you ride.
****************************
Stay safe, stay sane and please stay tuned.
I'll Call It Like I See It 