Cowboy Lukie

Cowboy Lukie is a happy go lucky sort of guy. He does everything with a smile and rarely gets upset or cries. He wanders through the day having fun with anything that comes his way, and when that includes a barn visit, all the better.

 Lukie loves the barn, and not just because there are horses. The new barn is full of interesting and delightful things to play with.

Such as Tim's "broken" mower. At least, that's what Lukie assumed when we wouldn't turn it on for him. 

He loves to try out the child sized benches in the lounge. (Like us, Tim and Loni have a big family and a passel of grandchildren so there are things at the barn just for them.)

After Goldilocksing this bench between the doors to Tim's office and the bathroom, 

Lukie asked who the man in the photo was. I don't know; I presume it is just there for decoration, but at least one other photo in the lounge is of Tim's family members, so I will have to ask.

 Grabbing the broom from the pot bellied stove that heats the lounge, Cowboy Lukie did some "cleaning."

 I plan to do some of that when the weather is a little warmer, but right now the lounge is very chilly. There are some space heaters to keep the bathroom pipes from freezing, but they're too small to warm up the entire room.

Of course, Cowboy Lukie had to have his turn on Hokey in the round pen with Aunt Lisa assisting before he went home.

You can tell that this little cowboy had a good time visiting the barn by that smile on his face. 

Mine matched.

"Whoa! Oh, Crazy!"

We are living through an historic event - the COVID19 pandemic. I've been self isolating at home for four weeks now, and while I would love to resume my normal routine, I also understand the need for everyone to remain at home in order to stop the spread of the virus.

Sadly, Alan Broadbent, a friend of forty years has lost his fight with COVID19. His wife, Joanne, another dear friend, also has the virus and is at home alone fighting her own battle. She's lost her husband, she is ill, she is alone... devastating.

With Alan's death, the pandemic became very real to me. Those cheeky memes no longer seemed quite as funny or clever. I felt helpless, sad, and even frightened. If it happened to Alan and Joanne, it could happen to me. Or Craig. To my children, grandchildren, and other friends. And so on.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, a day I usually spend in Church and then with family. We celebrated the holiday very, very differently yesterday.

During the day, Vanessa sent me a video of Pony Pal Mila and Cowboy Lukie riding their rocking horses, knowing that that would make me smile. And it did, but it also made me think.

Cowboy Lukie is really riding hard, and at the end he says something. Did you hear it?

He says, "Oh, crazy!" as he stops his pony and dismounts.

Not only did that video made me smile, but it also made me think about the loss of my friend and this terrible pandemic that we are enduring. Don't we all want to cry, "Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" like Cowboy Lukie does? And things ARE crazy and will probably remain that way for some time until we can begin our new normal.

But the video also made me think about how life goes on despite its challenges and scary moments. Cowboy Lukie and Pony Pal Mila are evidence of that. Their world will be changed by the pandemic, but we will find a cure, the pandemic will end, and life will go on.

Keep on riding, Cowboy Lukie.