the scoop

Alright, alright! I know lots of you have been reading my cryptic messages on Facebook, so here's the scoop!

I met with Rick on Tuesday morning. Actually, that was an adventure in and of itself! And just to keep you in suspense, I'll tell you about that first.

Rick was at the Snaffle Bit Futurity show in Reno, Nevada. In true LeAndra fashion, I didn't look at a map and just assumed he'd be driving through on I-70. He didn't say anything to the contrary, so I was trying to find a place for him to turn out his horses and for us to meet along I-70. Gordon, my farrier, told me I could use his parents' place and we had it all figured out.

Until I told Ellen that Rick called from Salt Lake City.

Apparently, SLC is on I-80. Apparently, RENO is on I-80. And it just so happens that Laramie, which is only an hour away from us, is ALSO on I-80. So, I called him back, told him to scrap all plans and to bring his horses here to the ranch.

Well, Rick called from Salt Lake City at 4 pm, which put him here around midnight. I waited up for him, but I just couldn't make it any longer. I put up a note for him at the lodge and at the barn and went to bed. He called, I don't even know what time, to tell me he was 17 miles away...probably the last point he had cell service.

At 7 am, he called again.

He said he couldn't find the place and had driven on to Cheyenne! I thought for SURE, I had just shot myself in the foot.

Turns out, he saw our closed gate and went across the street to the Girl Scout ranch and drove around there for about an hour, but couldn't find what I had told him on the phone. So then he drove on to Cheyenne...an hour away.

Let me just tell you, after getting that phone call, that is probably the fastest I have EVER gotten ready! But fortunately, he's a pretty laid back guy and wasn't upset about it. PHee-YOU!

Anyhow, so we chatted for about an hour in his truck because it was so cold outside and we were just at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Park. You know, this is how interviews go for horse jobs...a little bit different than for actuarial jobs!

I felt pretty good about it except that he asked if I could give him 2 years. Now for a normal person, this is no big deal. But for a commitment phobe? YIKES!

Then as I was driving back toward the interstate, of course stressing about the 2 year commitment, he called to ask if I had had breakfast yet. I hadn't so we met up at the good ole BK and stayed there another hour or so. I have to say, that extra hour just made me feel that much better. And even the 2 years didn't sound so bad. I guess I realized how fast the last 6 months have gone and I know 2 years will go just as quickly.

So, there you have it. When I go back to Jax at the end of the month, I'll drive on down to Okeechobee to check the place out and make sure it's a definite go. And if it is, that's where you'll be able to find me for the next two years.

For those of you who just skipped to the bottom...

I'll be moving to Okeechobee, Florida in January to learn to train reined cow horses with Rick Steed.

The End.

Amen.

Hallelujah.