Riding day
Friday is riding day. Although Michelle's instructor works at a riding school closer to Helsingborg now, it still takes me two hours to go to Michelle's school, get her changed into her riding gear, down to the train station, onto a train or bus, and 30 miles south to a town called Landskrona. Then we walk or take another bus before actually getting to the stable. One has to be there at least half an hour before the actual lesson starts to groom and saddle the pony, and it takes a quarter of an hour to groom the pony afterwards. Then there's another walk, bus and train back to Helsingborg, where we meet Mikael and June for dinner at McDonald's (because lord knows I'm not cooking after all that). We aren't home until seven on most Fridays and by then I am ready to conk out.
Today I splurged on a car from the local electric car pool instead. This may only bring the entire process down to four hours instead of five, but I save a lot of energy by not walking as much. So here I am on a Friday night at nine o'clock, wide awake for once, wondering how much longer This whole routine will feel worthwhile. It is important to me who I entrust to teach my kid how to harness hundreds of pounds of flight instinct, be a good rider and care for horses knowledgeably and responsibly. Emelie had been a good fit since Michelle was five years old, but gosh I wish she worked at a closer riding school!
