A Valentine for Bravado

Camryn leading her Valentine back to be groomed.

My three year old Granddaughter was over this weekend to teach me a lesson about "Balentimes Day". She is a wealth of information and highly reliable. She explained to me (very patiently) that a very special day was coming. A day where you draw a picture and write a special note for someone you love. She is planning to make this special "Balentime" for her favorite creature in the world; "Bravado".  Bravado is a rather well-aged horse that she she has ridden on Saturdays for the last several weeks. She calls him "Rabado" and he doesn't seem to mind a bit. She is certain that he will want to hang his "Balentime" on the door to his house, which as she explains to me, is called a stall.

To back-track, she has been wanting a horse of her own for over a year. Neither her Papa nor Santa have come through yet, bet she has not lost hope. Her Papa is willing to buy her a horse tomorrow, but there is the small issue of boarding. She is fairly certain that she could keep a horse in her room if he wasn't too big. Bravado is definitely too big.

She loves everything about this horse, including cleaning his hooves. When she rides him, she likes to go fast. Her favorite movie is Brave (the red-headed Scottish girl who loves to ride a horse). Did I mention she is a red-head and her Papa is a Scottish immigrant? She makes the connection between the name of her favorite horse and her favorite movie.  She says being brave is "when it is very scary and you feel funny in your tummy, but you do it anyway". Out of the mouths of babes.

She loves Bravado so much that as she rides, she occasionally leans over and wraps her little arms around his big neck and gives him a warm hug. I know Bravado gets that she is Brave and how much she loves him. I am sure he will hang his "Balantime" on the door to his house and be glad to see his red-headed Valentine when she comes bouncing in on Saturday.


We should all be so brave!

Happy Valentine's Day!