"You make the coffee, and I'll saddle the horses" 

Hey friends, so it's been a while since I've had time to sit down and write. I apologize. Something from a conversation last weekend came up, and usually on these kind of things I process them for a few days, and then decide if I want to actually write about them. However, I keep going back to this conversation, and I know some of you may not like what you hear, or actually don't want to hear it at all, but that's okay. Keep an open mind. 

A friend of mine called,and was just devastated over this "cowboy" who had broke her heart, and while I'm terrible at advice, and even WORSE when it comes to "cowboys" and their way of thinking,  all I could think of was this...

 My sister has  been married to my brother in law now for..well, a long time, and 3 kids later they're still going strong. Her job requires her to work on Saturdays, and since Saturdays are usually the only day that my brother in law Darrell can get away, it becomes quite the adventure to get away to work cattle with kids. Now Darrell, and I have been friends for longer than I can count, so we have quite the brother and sister type friendship. So on most Saturdays when we have to go work cattle, I get a phone call the night before 'Hey Lainey, can you be at the house by 4:30 a.m.? We're leaving out early" In other words, he needs help with the kids, and I can tag along and take pictures..haha! 

So now you're thinking to yourself "Ok, Laine... What does this have to do with being single, and having your heart broke?" Well, you see, Darrell and I have a system for early mornings like this. He starts the pickup to get it warm, saddles the horses, hooks on the trailer, and gets all the gear loaded from the barn. While I get to the house, make coffee, pack a thermos, pack the "snack bag" & breakfast for the kids, and get them dressed and ready. We then meet back at the house, and carry sleeping kiddos wrapped in blankets to put them in their car seats, and head off to the pens to meet the rest of the crew. It's a system we've used for a long time, and it works for our traveling circus, and what a circus it is! 

So here we are in this new age of technology, and it got me thinking... I think we as females should be independent, but strong enough to go about it like a team. Of course we can saddle our own horses, and we can hook on the trailer, but is this man you're crushing over/dating  worthy of your time if he wouldn't even saddle your horse for you? So when it comes to advice on being a single gal, I have none, but you can always ask yourself this "Would he saddle your horse for you?, or hook on the trailer if you needed him to?" It's about being a team, and a little old fashioned. 

My brother in law & dad have raised the standards pretty high for this gal. They don't text, they call, they don't believe in Facebook, and they have never sent an email haha! As far as my friend goes, her heart is mending, she's making her own coffee, and saddling her own horse with a smile upon her face... and my advice consisted of telling her that I bet that "cowboy" didn't even know how to saddle a horse, haha! 

My nephew Creek Canyon on one of our family adventures... It takes a village to help raise kids, and I'm proud to be an aunt!