My Stick Horse

I love this story my great, great, grandma wrote, it's really makes me see things from a different perspective. It's called...

The Stick Horse

One evening when
my four-year old sister and I were out walking with Father, Ellen asked him to carry her home. She was just too tired to walk, she said. When he told her that he was tired, too, she began to cry. With out a word, Father took out his knife and cut a small limb from a tree. Handing it to Ellen, he said, “Here’s a fine horse for you to ride.” Ellen hopped astride the stick, and off she galloped- beating us home by a block.

Father laughed. “That’s the way you will find life, he told me. “Sometime you will be so tired mentally or physically that you’ll think you can’t go on. Then you’ll find a stick horse in a form of a friend, a song, a poem, a flower, a baby’s smile- and over the tired spot you’ll gallop.”

Now I am telling my three children that there is a stick horse to carry them over every tired spot in life if they will but look around for it.

--Mrs. T. Edward Brown Posted in the Reader’s Digest- May, 1946

I came up with a list of a few 'stick horses' in my life, like:

When my parent’s say “Go give’em Heck!” as I’m on my way to do something really intimidating, It just gives me the confidence going into interviews, a new school, or speaking in public with a cheesy grin on my face.

Having inside jokes with myself!

An unexpected compliment. These usually can turn my whole day around!

Waking up before my alarm goes off and realizing I still have a hour to sleep.

Painting with the color blue

Watching old family videos

Making nic-names for rude people! The rude person of this week is Lisa, so now when I have anything to say about her, I use her new name "Leesiees feesies"

The taste of cold fruit when I’m taking a hot shower! (Yep, I eat in the shower all the days! Cold foods taste the best, but occasionally Spaghetti-O’s hit the spot!)

When my mom seems to call me right when I need someone to talk to!

Coming home and finding that my best friends have been waiting all day to see me! Nope, I’m not talking about surprise parties! I’m talking about my DOGS! (even though I do like surprise parties!)

I feel like too many times we look around to see what drags us down, when we should be looking for our sick horse. So that's my newest goal, to be more optimistic and look for the good in life.