04/10/2025
I am doing the Insta+Connect Challenge with and one of the prompts is to share a dream I had as a kid and how it connects (or doesn’t) to what I am doing now.
I grew up on my horse, Snoopy. He was my best friend. We rode in the woods, I hung out with him in the field, I loved to groom and care for him. We also rode in our tiny-town parade every year.
After thinking about this question of how my childhood love and interest is reflected in the work I do today, here’s the memory that came.
When I was somewhere around fifth or sixth grade, new neighbors moved in behind us. It was a family that included a girl a few years younger than me… and she wanted to learn to ride a horse.
I came up with a plan. I would give her a certain number of lessons and teach her basic skills. I figured out what I would cover and where to start. I told her it would be five dollars a lesson.
I never heard back about my “proposal.” I don’t know if her parents said no, if they didn’t want to pay for it, or if she lost interest.
What really makes me smile about this memory is that some part of me knew I was a natural teacher. I can see a big picture and envision the path to a goal. Part of my genius is breaking things down and making them understandable.
Another thing that strikes me is my 10-year-old entrepreneurial spirit! It didn’t seem at all inappropriate to ask to be paid for my time, skills and experience.
Lastly, although I didn’t crave the spotlight, I learned to adapt to having eye on me. I was in our parade every year for seven years. And won a trophy every year – later realizing I was probably the only entry in my category!
I was not an overly confident kid, unless it came to my relationship with Snoopy. He taught me how to be a leader, how to forgive, how to fall hard and get back up, how to be creative (oh, the apparatus I MacGyvered for us to jump over!), and mostly how to love.
This was such a rich reflection. Take a moment to consider your true loves of childhood and what you learned and they might still live in you today. I’d love to hear.