The Twins

Things I Miss

Sarah Simmons

(4/2020) Things have changed so much since I wrote my last Riding column. I’m having to stay home all the time now. And I miss so many things. The big things, but also the small things that I never really thought about before, before the virus.

The virus is a bad thing. I learned about it in school and my Mom and Dad have told me some about it too. It’s made people sick. My sister and my parents aren’t sick and my friends aren’t sick. And I don’t really know anyone who’s gotten the virus. But I’m still a little concerned about it. And I hope the people who are sick get better soon.

But everything is different now. I’m not in school anymore. And I’m not sure when we will go back. That makes me sad because I miss my friends and my teachers. And I miss my school, Mother Seton school. I miss walking down the hallways and playing on the playground and going to the library. I miss gym and art class and band practice too. My twin sister Emma and I play saxophones (the coolest instruments ever). It’s hard to think about not having lunch with my friends in the cafeteria and having pizza on Fridays. Even though my Mom let me and my sister have a ‘virtual playdate’ with some of our friends (we saw and talked to our friends on our iPads) and that was fun, but it’s not the same as real playdates. I wonder how a ‘virtual’ sleepover might work? Maybe Emma and I can try it with some friends soon.

Restaurants are closed too. We loved going out to eat at the Palms and Carriage House. And our church is closed. It’s Trinity United Methodist church. I miss my friends there too. Even the parks closed. Our dogs, Skye and Stormy, loved playing at the dog park. I’m not sure if dogs can get the virus. I hope not.

But there’s something else that I’m a little worried about… that I might not get to ride horses for a while. My Mom told me that we are supposed to be practicing something called ‘social distancing.’ That means that we can’t be very near people who aren’t in our family. That’s why Emma and I had a ‘virtual’ playdate instead of a real one. But I don’t think ‘virtual’ riding would be too much fun. And I don’t think the horses would really ‘get’ it. And some of the things I love about horseback riding just wouldn’t be at all the same.

The way it feels when you are on the back of a horse is amazing. When I trot on Wesley it feels a little bouncy but when I post, it’s smoother and more even. But I love catering the best. It’s fast and even smoother. And I even miss the sound that Wesley makes when we canter. It’s like nothing I’ve heard before. It’s the sound of the wind, and him breathing, and the thump of his hooves as they hit the ground over and over again. I’ll miss that feeling a lot if I can’t ride.

But I don’t just miss the riding part of the horses. I miss the horses themselves. I ride Wesley but my coach also has two other horses, Kit and Scotty. They are all really sweet animals. They follow me around and like to get real close to my face. I kiss them sometimes and I like the way they smell. I’ll miss that too. They all love getting peppermints, carrots, and apples. When I give them apples, they are so messy. It’s like they make applesauce from the apples. But I love watching them because they are having so much fun.

Our coach, Mike, also has cats and dogs around the farm. I’ll missing playing with them too. He has two barn cats, Q and Will, that I get to see a lot. Q likes to pretend that he is "Grumpy Cat." But I don’t think he really is grumpy. He just likes to do what he wants to do. He roams around in the bushes a lot, probably looking for mice treats. Will likes to walk under my feet. I think he does this so I will pick him up and carry him around and give him hugs. I think that Q is in charge of the barn, the horses, the dogs, and maybe even Mike.

Sometimes Emma and I get to feed the horses if we are at the farm late in the afternoon. Their stalls are always so clean and neat. And the barn smells like sweet hay and oats. The horses are a little rowdy when we first bring them into the barn. They are ready for their dinner. We give them their oats and water and Mike gives them hay. And as soon as we feed them they get still and quiet. The only sound is muffled munching. I’ll miss that too. I hope it won’t be too long before I can see the horses again.

I hope that this virus goes away soon. I think it’s hard for everyone, grown-ups and kids too. There’s so much that I can’t do right now and so much that I’ll miss doing. But my Mom keeps telling me that there’s a lot that I can do without my friends (this includes the horses). I can keep my room neat and straight (ugh), learn to play with my sister without fighting (not going to happen), practice my saxophone so that I don’t squeak as much, and teach our dogs not to dig up the yard. And, of course, there’s always the schoolwork….

Maybe I will try a virtual playdate with the horses, better than not seeing them at all. What do you think, Mike?