"She'll get a little hay in her hair,
her tires in the mud,
She's been caught in the rain,
and washed in the blood"
- Southern Girl (Tim McGraw)
I couldn't tell you why, but I've always secretly wanted to be a country girl - preferably southern, and even more preferably a cowboy.
Yes. You heard me right.
Cowboy.
(See, the problem with being a girl is that you can't be a cowboy or knight or hero or wear suits or...I could go on, but that's not what this post is really about) ;)
However, I also happen to be a bit of a diva. Just a wee bit, but enough where I wear loads of makeup and high heels and do my hair up nice and wear perfume and dance and all that jazz and my mom's called me the epitome of feminine more times than I care to count.
(Personally, I think she's mistaken, but that's just me haha).
My younger sister, on the other hand, is the classic tomboy who doesn't really care what she looks like, can beat the guys in a running race, and obsesses over - oops, adores - horses, and I love her to pieces.
The problem though with a sister like that, is that she's cast as the tomboy and I'm cast as the girly girl, and if she wears makeup or I wear camo, we are subjected to no end of teasing!
To be fair, I am a girly girl. But I also love camo and knives and guns and denim and hunting and leather and I'm not afraid of hard work or getting my hands dirty.
I just don't like deliberately looking ugly even if I'm only going to get filthy....yes, it's possible to be pretty and be covered in dirt. I haven't yet achieved it, but I'm quite sure it must be possible haha.
Y'know, I was that weird girl growing up whose dream closet included a medieval gown, a Stetson, a Civil War ball gown, pointe shoes, a Winchester, a corset, a stola, a black leather jacket, angel wings, a mermaid tail, and a suit of armor among other such contradictory things.
But, since I have a rep for being a girly girl, I'm prone to get laughed at for wearing camo or a backwards baseball cap or exhibiting interests in anything other than girly pursuits. And the one time I remember telling a girlfriend that my secret dream was to be a southern country girl, she laughed and told me I wasn't blond, couldn't talk Southern, so to suck it up cause I'd never be country.
Well, that put an end to that rather speedily, but my love for all things country never quite left.
My family could tell you stories about shelves of Westerns and the look on my face when I found a pair of gorgeous cowgirl boots for under $30 and the hours of country music they've been subjected to ;)
Suffice it to say, I adore country....always have, and I think I always shall.
And last fall when my sister started volunteering at a local barn, and asked me to volunteer along with her, my initial response was "oh gosh, no! I've no desire to be laughed out of the house!"
She chuckled and said she'd guessed as much, since she knew I liked horses, but wasn't sure I was up for mucking out stalls.
I half wish now that she'd coerced me into it initially, but a few nights ago, for some reason, we were discussing volunteer hours, and she asked again if I'd come with her today and at least give it a chance since she wanted to introduce me to the horses. Plus, a little angry birdie told me, a few months ago, that if I wished to get to know my sister better, I had best come muck stalls with her instead of trying to convince her to read books with me....which....guilty.
So, I agreed.
And boy, am I ever glad I did!
Sister bonding time, gorgeous horses, the peace and honest - to - goodness therapeutic value of being in a barn, a ride behind a tractor, country music, and the feel of the outdoors all contributed to the perfect afternoon - even if we were mucking stalls and feeding horses for most of it!
We cleaned stalls, brought the horses in, fed and watered them, and then swept the barn after we measured out food for them for the next day. It took the horses a little while to warm up to the presence of a new person, but once they did, they were awfully sweet!
Plus, I think I received one of the nicest complements anyone has ever given me -- the owner of the barn, a strong country woman who was not only old enough to be my grandmother,but grew up as a legit farm girl, watched as my sister and I walked back from the far paddock, each of us with a bucket in one hand, and as soon as we were within earshot, she chuckled and said that we looked like we belonged on a farm.
Suffice it to say, my day was officially made. ;)
And...we're headed back next week together for more of the same, and despite the smell and the flies and the messiness, I'm actually looking forward to it!
One step further to being a legit country girl ;) I just need to learn how to shoot...and fish...and hunt....and drive a tractor...hehe.
Anyhows, in all I consider today to be a complete success, and cannot wait to see what new developments are in store.
<3 Tirzah
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