When you’re in a relationship for a long, long time (and in this instance I am talking 29 plus years) the tendency is to take your other half for granted. It is like being paired with the cart horse that you’ve always been paired with. It is what is, and isn’t anything else. You are both put in the traces and presumably you pull your weight. Presumably.

Of course is often the case one or the other horse pulls more than their share of the load. This is true as of late. Pete has been doing most of the work around here. He has not uttered a single word of complaint, though he has had grounds to do so. He instead seems to

have accepted his lot, which as of late has been to do the not-so-fun things that I haven’t had time to do, so that I can do the fun things.

Okay. Pete’s been doing the not-so-fun things – major administrativa such as working on tax forms, permanent fund forms, insurance forms, and as well, bill payments. He’s also taken on the minor administrativa, such as house cleaning, cooking, and picking up the dog shit in the yard. All this and more so that I might study for tomorrow’s anatomy and physiology lecture test. Add to this the fact that he has a full time job teaching and has been putting a lot of energy into organizing the July Competitive Trail Ride.

I know full well that over spring break that I must pick up the slack and pull harder. I can do this. For instance, I need to pitch in and assist with getting MY riding arena ready for the earth moving portion of this venture. I need to move the downed rounds out of the arena space. I also need to help split this wood and stack it in the woodshed. And I need to make travel plans so that Pete can book tickets. (Making ticket reservations is another thing that Pete does so well.) Oh yeah, in addition, I need to get on some e-lists and see if I can find someone who wants a horse brought back up here when we bring Tyra back. And let’s not forget the fact that I’m still missing two teeth. I need to make a dental appointment and see if I can get the insurance company to pay for a new bridge.

I also have my own self-administrativa to tend to. I have centered riding stuff and two papers to write for anatomy and physiology. I also want to see if I can’t make some headway in the next exciting chapter. And I want to spend more time with my animals. Backing Hrimmi is high up on the list, as is doing agility with her and Raudi.

Most importantly, I badly want to spend some time with Pete. We could just keep doing what we do, because this is easy. The danger in this is that it’s then easy to lose sight of why one partnered up in the first place. It wasn’t to make load pulling easier. Rather, it was to run and jump and kick and buck and squeal – in other words, enjoy time in the pasture.

Pete and I used to be far less busy. I don’t know what happened. I remember living in Fairbanks. We lived in a small cabin. We then had time to cross country ski, read books, and hang out with friends. The word busy wasn’t in our vocabulary. I don’t know if we’ll ever be so fortunate as to live that way again. I think not. However, spending time together is important. Otherwise, time passes, leaving one awash in a sea of regrets. I don’t want to go down with the ship – in other words, I don’t want to have regrets when my time comes.

Next: 67. 3/9/16: Coming Up for Air