BACK IN THE SADDLE

There are times when looking back at old photos, a smile

spreads across my face. Though taken years ago, they feel

like yesterday.

One of them is me as a kid riding my Welsh pony. She

was black with great patches of white.

We kept her in a field next to what was our cottage in

Woodbridge.

Catching Bubbles when I wanted to go riding would mean

cornering her in the pasture before she’d sigh and give up.

Once when riding her bareback and galloping down a

dusty road, she tripped and down she went. I flew over her head

and hit the ground.

I was getting up knowing Bubbles as was her nature being free,

would be long gone.

It was then I realized she was bending over me to see if I was okay.

Once on my feet I wrapped both arms around her neck and

squeezed Bubbles tight. I climbed back on. We headed home.

I’d been riding all my life, one or two summers spent on a ranch

south of Calgary. On horseback. Rounding up cattle.

.

Writer’s comment: I haven’t been riding for the past few years,

when Rosanne took me one recent weekend for an unexpected

drive.

We ended up at a small ranch not far from home where a

couple of horses were saddled and ready to take us for a ride.

I couldn’t believe it!

Back in the saddle again.

SNOOZE AWAY. PART 2

I mentioned an article last week in the Toronto Star

by staff reporter Kevin Jiang about a good night’s sleep.

I was wide awake when reading it. There’s more than

what I squeeze into it.

For instance the teaser 'Why can’t I fall asleep at night?'

He wrote about a wide range including: stress, anxiety

or depression. With stress being incompatible with sleep. That’s right on.

"Your mind and body,” he tells us, “must be in a relaxed state."

He also suggested you might decide to reduce the amount

of light you’re exposed to in the evenings.

He quotes Eva Libman as saying, consider wearing sunglasses in

the evenings - inside? - if it’s still sunny outside. And keep your bedroom dark

for the same reason.

Writer’s comment: Ms. Libman again: “There’s no sleeping pill

that can give you back natural sleep.” Ah, and this: she recommends

not turning on the bathroom light when you go for a pee. There's

more:

if you’re still awake in bed after twenty minutes, leave the bed, the bedroom

and do something . Anything. Try reading a book.

That’s enlightening.