This morning I am feeling old. Every once in a while this feeling of age comes over me as I am sure it must to everyone. As I lit the fire to warm the chilly house then got the kettle on for my first cup of tea of the day, putting milk in the pan for Darrell who I have the feeling will choose cocoa over plain milk this morning for his first beverage, I glanced at our ‘fridge door and felt… old.
I think ‘fridge doors must be a reflection of who we are,
at least our ‘fridge door seems to be. It is one of those side by side ‘fridges with two doors, on the freezer side is a collection of odds and ends which may make little sense to anyone who looks at them but mean tons to me. A postcard of York I sent to Darrell during my first trip back to England in many years in which I was accompanied by my pal Debbie Cole. A cartoon from the “Far Side” of a Cow Poetry session with a Holstein milk cow waxing poetical over the placement of a hot wire fence, given to us by a friend who had our cows grazing on their property for a while but a certain Holstein milk cow found their garden and flowers much more to her liking despite an electric fence! Other odds and ends but with them a very special picture, a portrait of me drawn by a wonderful little young lady in Alaska, Taylor, who has become quite dear to my heart.
On the other side of the ‘fridge is a crazy collage of pictures ranging from a picture of Darrell holding our granddaughter Lilli in his arms as a tiny baby for the first time to numerous school pictures of the grandchildren; Natalie, Evan and Sonja. I guess I should update some of them as those youngsters are now quite grown up! Along with pictures of grandchildren are some that 
although the youngsters are grown, off at college, studying abroad and some about to be married, I cannot bring myself to remove their younger versions from the door. Many of the pictures have a horse accompanying the youngster in the shot or are definitely horsey related!
One that always brings a smile to my face, as well as making me feel old, is a shot taken on the back steps of our bunkhouse. It was after a wonderful weekend of having the Burn’s Pony Club youngsters and families out to visit. The youngsters of Rimrock Riders Pony Club took lessons then were tested for their Pony Club ratings while the dad’s did some work around the place in preparation for an upcoming Pony Club “D” Camp and mum’s kept us all supplied with delicious food and camaraderie. I am sitting on the steps with some very special little youngsters around me displaying their newly earned Pony Club rating certificates; Logan McGee, Caitlin Rose, Chelsy Clements and Emma Rose and of course our dog Beau. Those youngsters are all grown up now and off all over the country. Caitlin is down in Florida training dolphins, Emma went off to college in California, Logan was in university over in New York but much to the delight of his family is now back in Oregon and sadly I do not know where Chelsy is but do know she has done some major globetrotting!
The other youngsters that adorn our ‘fridge door are also “related” to me by way of horses and Pony Club; Zoe, Ashley, Lindsey, Sophie, Annie and more. To see these youngsters in pictures from years ago, many are high school graduation pictures or snaps from Pony Club events, and know that now they are graduating university or have already graduated and are moving into their new role in the world as entrepreneurs and “gulp!”… married ladies! Yes that makes me feel old.
Among my collection is a picture of my dear aunty Kay celebrating her 80th birthday surrounded by her three children; Peter, Hillary and Rosalind, my surrogate family. On the other side of the ‘fridge around the corner is a shot of Larch House which was aunty Kay and uncle Alan’s home in Hoxne, England, where I spent a great part of my childhood. A little snapshot of Virginia as a baby, my dear pal Cornelia’s first born child and accompanying that one, a shot of Cornelia herself as she was when I left Vancouver BC back in 1985. Yes, there are many great shots and lots of wonderful memories on our ‘fridge. A ‘fridge door is not only a wonderful daily memento of friends and family near and far, past and present, but a reminder of how many lives we have been blessed to be a part of over the years.
Ahhh…. Yes I may still be feeling a tad old today but all of a sudden these memories have made me feel young at heart.
