D.R.I.T.S.

In the March 2010 issue of Trailrider, Bob Goddard, a funny contributor to the magazine, wrote about the serious addiction (albeit healthy) of riding. He delved into the medical condition of what happens when a serious addict is denied his or her fix; that condition is called "Deficient Riding Time Syndrome" or DRITS. There are tee shirts on the market that support this theory as well. They sport sayings such as "I need my barn time" and "I'd rather be riding." Lynn and I have had many conversations throughout the winter (and seemingly nonstop rain!) on this very topic--we just didn't know it had a name.

Goddard describes the late winter meltdowns in his home and it makes for funny reading; however, it wasn't so funny when last Friday I made one of my good friends cry because I was in the throes of undiagnosed DRITS.

I am obsessed with Jupiter. I want to help at evening feeding time as much as I can, so I can see him (and hang out with Lynn, of course). Last week we had the beautiful ride with Alisa on Saturday and I helped feed Sunday evening. I was able to get out of school at a decent hour and I helped on Monday. So I had three good days of seeing him, smelling the good horse smell, and being with good friends. I knew Tues, Wed, Thurs I had to work until at least 6pm, but the promise of Friday evening kept me going.

The sun came out on Thursday and I subbed for my friend Melodie. I had the students outside in the sun and they were working on memorizing bird names in Hupa, teaching me correct pronunciation, and then reading an old story in both languages. It is one of my favorite things to do and some of my favorite students to be with. I was happy. Suddenly there was a dark shadow hanging over me. It was a friend and colleague with whom I am in a subcommittee. She and another one of our colleagues had decided that Friday would be a good afternoon to meet and work on our project.

I said no, it was not good for me--I had something planned. But she gently insisted that we could meet in my room or my house (hint: I could make margaritas for them), but that everyone was available and we needed to progress on our project. I gave in, grudgingly; after all, it was only feeding the horses, unlike the important curriculum project that needed my attention.

Friday came and so did my colleagues. Immediately upon arrival in my classroom, one of them began to complain that it was Friday and why were we here? I put the blame back on her--it wasn't my idea. However, the meeting went along smoothly and we accomplished many things. About 5:30 it began to rain. Although I had already missed the feeding, with the rain my spirits dampened further. When my friend began to go down the already well-worn path of her neverending complaint at her school, I got up and began to put things together to take home. She noticed and made a comment. Never one to hold back much anyway, I let her have it. I was sick and tired of her whining. She cried.

Later I stomped into my mom's house for dinner and warned, "I'm cranky!" Once I explained myself, I did get over it; afterall, I had Saturday to look forward to--I was going to feed all by myself. However after experiencing the raging, out-of-control emotional rollercoaster I was feeling inside from missing Jupiter, I've decided DRITS is not just about riding, it's about all things horses.

On a high note, we had a gorgeous Spring day, Sunday. All the horses enjoyed the hoop-de-do trail and we all had big smiles stretching our faces. As I write this though, it is raining AGAIN, with forecasts to continue until ???? Ziggy lost a shoe on Sunday and Jupes does fine on the soft and peaty trail, but he is a little tender-footed on the rocky areas. Shirley has not been able to reach the farrier and Lynn got a little short with her yesterday. All I have to say is: he'd better return some calls and shoe some horses pretty quick or three women will have a bad case of DRITS and he should want to avoid that!

Coming soon--a feeding alone story and a Ziggy story.