Remembering last year.....

My mind keeps going back to this time last year......

We were really in a difficult spot last year. We took a vacation to Europe to visit our "daughters" from the foreign exchange student programs. It seemed like a good idea when we planned the trip in the spring of 2007, but it was quite a different story by the time October rolled around. We really wanted to see the two of them -- Lydia, our girl from Italy who was with us in 2001; and Marie, our girl from Germany who was with us in 2005. But we are in real estate, and the market started taking a downturn in 2007. By the time we left for Rome, real estate was really suffering. Also, we had been going through an ordeal with Divna's Moon Blindness/Glaucoma, which had been taking a turn for the worse for the past 2-3 months. But we got to see the two of our girls in Europe, and it was great.

When we got home, we took a ride to re-connect with our horses, whom we had not seen in three weeks. We got a little carried away. The horses were really into the ride, and we were really into the ride, and I guess we just all four got caught up in the excitement, which manifested itself into a race down the abandoned railroad line. We were on the farthest leg of the railroad line -- the part where the path is really wide and clear. Well, clear except for the mudpuddles everywhere from a recent rain.

For once Divna and I were ahead -- this almost never happens. Zora is so fast she outpaces every horse we've ever been with even at a walk. But this time, we were in the lead. That does not sit right with either John or Zora, so when they saw an opportunity to pass us up (even though it was straight through a mudpuddle) they took it.

I hear John make an involuntary sound -- a crying out, so to speak. I looked over my shoulder and saw him and Zora laying on the ground, and I just knew he broke something. Divna and I immediately went back. Zora was up and walking around, munching on whatever was on the side of the path. Thankfully she was fine. John got up and said he was fine, and I asked "What did you break?" He said that he was OK. Seems the ground under that mudpuddle took a bit of a dip, and Zora lost her footing. They both fell. He said he just hit the ground hard, but he couldn't get back in the saddle. Lifting his arm bothered him quite a bit.

So we start the 3+ mile walk back home.

Finally, he put his hand under his shirt and felt the broken collar bone. We knew right then that things were going to be pretty strange for the next few weeks. Turns out he pretty much shattered the collar bone. Had to have surgery, they put in a plate and screws to hold the whole situation together. It was a real ordeal for him.

Thankfully everything has worked out, though it was really tricky for a while. Being self-employed, our health insurance wasn't the greatest. In addition to huge vet bills for Divna's eye situation, we were looking at a healthy sum for John's surgery and treatment. And did I mention the real estate market had taken a turn for the worse? But we got through that tough time, and John is now more focused on developing the equestrian property area of our business, and I am doing some accounting work.

Thank God Zora didn't get hurt!!