The Bottom Shelf Review

I remember the best day of my life more like a movie than a memory. It has been so long that I remember more of the story that I tell people rather than the actual event. Still, it is my favorite story to tell.

It had been a strange day, but I didn’t think too deeply about it because things had been working out in my favor. I had been giddy at school all day in anticipation of my birthday the next day, and knowing that the end of the school day would bring my horseback riding lesson did not help my lack of patience. My mom had seemed slightly anxious this afternoon, insistent on getting to the barn on time and rushing everyone if things did not go to plan, although that was not necessarily abnormal for my mother. She was always busy, always working in anticipation, and the only time that I ever really remember her taking a moment to just relax and enjoy being was when she stopped to watch me ride.

The strange part of the evening had nothing to do with my mother’s stress, but instead had come about when my dad busted through the front door almost 2 hours early from work and mentioned in passing that he would be coming with my mother and I to the barn. This did not seem to be news to my mother, who may have burned the flesh off her cheeks with her blush if my dad had sprung a change of plans onto her at the last minute. I, on the other hand, was completely shocked and only got crazier with excitement. As much as I appreciated how my mother’s very reason for living at all was to make me happy and accommodate my schedule, there was no treat like when my dad came to spend time with us, and particularly time where all his attention was directed at me. I didn’t question why things were going well or appeared out of place; I just went with it and thoroughly enjoyed while it lasted.

Walking into the barn that day felt like heading to a safe place standing in the middle of the scary unknown. After four years of riding in all seasons, all weather, and all emotions I was certain that there was no feeling quite like the one that fills your heart when you see the barn. It was pitch black out despite only being about 6 in the evening, and the sharp winds were tearing through the bare tree branches that encased the property. The air was bitterly cold and the thick sheet of ice separating my feet from the pavement was frozen enough to reach my toes despite my thick socks and boots. My eyes were watering and my skin burned from the nip of the freezing wind, but the warmth of the barn in the distance glowed through the slats of the closed doors and knowing that the horses and wind-blocking interior were waiting for me made the trek across the parking lot worthwhile.

As I walked with my head down and pushing against the strength of the winter snap, careful not to slip on the frozen lake where the driveway used to be, I briefly thought about my parents who were walking way too slowly for my liking. They trailed about 10 feet behind me, my mom whispering at my dad and my dad barely listening as he searched in his pocket for something. Even though it was far too cold to smile and risk my gums drying out from exposure to the air, I wondered how I managed to get so lucky. I thought about how my mom, a city kid who moved to a small town to start a family, had never had any goals in life but to make my brother and I happy. I thought about how selfless she was, the number of sacrifices that she had made for me, and how I knew that even if I never thanked her for anything she would do it all again without me having to ask. I thought about my dad, a man who had been working every day of his life since he was about 10 years old, and how he never took a day off from work. I thought about how I never had to want for anything in my life, and how he always supported my drive and passions even if he didn’t necessarily share them. I thought about them together, and how miraculous it was that despite the billions of people in this world, I got two parents that may have never touched a horse in their lives but went above and beyond to make me the greatest equestrian of all time. I paused outside of the giant sliding doors, waiting for them to catch up, and in that moment I truly believed that I did not need anything else to make my life complete.

When my dad yanked open the hefty doors enough for me to slip through and get hit with the smell of hay and warm horses, I saw that my lesson horse was already waiting in the isle for me. I had been riding this horse, Simba, for a few weeks now as my instructor had purchased him to train into a lesson pony that she would later sell. He was a cute little pony with a crazy mane, and we had been getting along well in our rides over the last few lessons. Usually when I had a lesson I would show up early to groom my horse and put on his tack, but today he was already waiting for me. As I walked closer, my parents lagged behind: my mom to stand next to my trainer who had snuck up behind me, and my dad to pull out his phone and start recording video of me.  

When I turned back to face Simba I noticed that he was already brushed with extra care, and he was already tacked up with a freshly conditioned saddle. His hair was slicked neatly and his hooves glistened from being freshly polished. The back half of his body was covered in a thin white sheet with green trimming, and the front of the sheet was left unbuckled and pulled back over the saddle to reveal a gigantic red velvet bow tied around Simba’s neck. I pet Simba’s neck and watched my hand disappear into his fluffy coat as I walked around the front of him to look closely at the bow. The trimming was tiny gold beads, and a colorful tag hung from the bottom loop. It had curly penmanship dancing from side to side, a trademark of my mother’s handwriting, and said “Happy Birthday Georgia! Love, Mom and Dad”. I recited the script out loud and looked back in confusion at everyone’s grinning faces staring at me. My mom, impatient and unable to contain her excitement, asked what I thought of my present in a voice three pitches higher than I had ever heard her before.

Not understanding what she meant, I looked back at Simba and then back at my mom and dad. “My present? I don’t understand, what is my present?” I looked back at Simba again, trying to figure out what my parents could have possibly gotten me. I inspected the saddle and tack he was wearing, but he had on my saddle and my saddle pad. It couldn’t be his tack. I wrapped my gloved hands around the green trim on the sheet, and not recognizing it I turned back to question everyone. My trainer shook her head with an abnormal amount of vigor and said “Nope, that’s mine…” and then she repainted her face with her mischievous grin. I looked back at the sheet crumpled in my fist and dropped it, a bit of frustration casting over my confusion. I watched the three of them in a line, my dad hiding behind the video camera, and as I observed all their matching grins glaring back at me, I stared back at them with a blank gaze. They all waited a moment before simultaneously looking at Simba behind me, and I turned to find what they were looking at. As I stared at the horse perking his ears at me, I looked into his soft eyes in search of answers.

The moment I discovered what my birthday present was, I remember my jaw hitting the ground before my mind caught up to what was currently happening. I looked back in absolute shock, my eyes begging my parents not to toy with my emotions. They couldn’t be serious. “Wait…. do you mean…” I couldn’t get out any other words; my voice had disintegrated into hope. All three of them burst into joyful laughter and my mom started to shake.

That was when I lost complete control over myself. I started laughing, tearing up, and jumping all at once. I could not believe that Simba was really mine! I threw my arms around his neck and hung there as my mom came to hug me and my dad captured every angle with his phone.

I cannot remember anything that happened after that moment or what had happened during my lesson that night. All I could think about, all that would stick to the walls inside of my brain, was that I actually had a horse. I had my own horse. No, I had a great horse, the best in the entire world, and I knew that we were destined to accomplish amazing adventures together.