Since last June, the Barn has been having our students Nick and Lee out every Friday morning during term to participate in a work group. For those of you who receive our newsletter, you may recall a “Student Spotlight” article was written about the two teenagers. The duo took a break this past Summer, but picked things back up in September. I’ve been so thrilled to get to work alongside them again that I can’t help but write about their progress and the fun we’ve shared.
A typical morning begins with Lee refilling feed buckets while Nick sweeps and does other daily chores. Lee often uses this time to regale us with the ever-evolving plot and characters of the movie (and video game spinoff) he is planning: “World War III: Global Terror”. Nick enjoys taking a moment to greet his buddy Shiloh.
After the buckets are full of feed and the floors pristine, we usually gather together and set out to clean and refill water troughs. Nick and Lee have mastered this chore. They’ll guide our super amazing volunteers Becky and Melinda through the steps of dumping the dirty water, spraying the trough with a bleach/water mixture, and then scrubbing, rinsing, and refilling the trough.
Other days, we will go to see the goats or bunnies and do chores pertaining to those little critters. Lee, being a huge cat lover, also ensures that we check Xena’s food and water bowls. We may tidy up the trails as well.
The hour of hard work is followed up with a riding lesson. Lee has been riding at the Barn for a couple more years, so he often serves both as an example and an assistant to Wyspr’s instructing during the lessons. Nick does a good job listening to his friend and has steadily improved throughout the term. Back in September, he struggled to stay on his horse for more than 10 minutes due to leg cramps. On his final lesson for the term, Nick managed to ride Elvis for nearly 45 minutes.
Their friendship has also blossomed over these Fall months. Back when the work group first began, Nick and Lee would only speak a couple sentences to one another before moving on from the conversation. Now they joke back and forth, as Nick often asks Lee if he has ants in his pants or Lee pretends to be a hitchhiker when Nick rides back to the white barn to dismount. I can’t help but laugh along with them, partially because how genuinely funny they are and because of how happy I am to see them feeling comfortable enough to come out of their shell and show their humorous sides.
Working with Nick and Lee is always one of the highlights of my week. I’ll miss them next month as the Barn takes a break between Fall and Winter terms. But that just means I’ll have something else to look forward to in the coming year, and I’m very excited to a part of their journey through life. As much as they have grown over the past year and a half, I feel as if working beside them has allowed me to grow a near equal amount.
– Connor