“Alice: How long is forever?
White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.”
Lewis Carroll
Just a second, that’s all it can take to change your life. Yesterday, I was on a yard when an accident happened. Completely unexpected, out of character, and impossible to predict. I was not involved, other than in caring for those affected. Hopefully, in this case, the consequences will be relatively mild.
We cannot continually live on the edge, and yet we must be aware, and do what we can to keep ourselves and others safe. We are all so tired. The pandemic has worn us down. Living with such high levels of uncertainty and anxiety has been exhausting, and continues to be. In my household of two, we have had three episodes of Covid-19 within six weeks. I didn’t even know it was possible to catch Covid-19 twice in six weeks! We are lucky, with mild symptoms and a swift recovery. Uncertainty continues around the world, so much so that it is hard even to think about.
And so in writing this, as I hug my boy whilst he sleeps, I want to share with you this poem. It is one I never tire of.
“From the moment you hold your baby in your arms you will never be the same
You might long for the person you were before
When you had freedom and time
And nothing in particular to worry about
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before
Days will run into days that are exactly the same
Full of feedings and burping
Nappy changes and crying
Whining and fighting
Naps or a lack of naps
It might seem like a never-ending cycle
But don’t forget…
There is a last time for everything
There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child
One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down
And never pick them up that way again
You will scrub their hair in the bath for one last time
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone
They will hold your hand to cross the road
Then will never reach for it again
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this
One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus” and do all the actions
Then never sing them that song again
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.
The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times. And even then, it will take you a while to realize.
So while you are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.”
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity, and compassion
