Life and Real Estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Harkening back to my July post on my overwhelming surprise at  receiving Wiley,  my Christmas gift horse….  It wasn’t just a huge surprise,  it was also a bit of a shock.   A little hard to take in,  some quick figuring was needed about what to do next.   Easy solution.   I always say,  when in doubt,  go shopping !   So that’s what I did.

A quick visit to Dover’s  website  ( www.doversaddlery.com  )  to look at the latest and greatest in equine  equipment and fashions was in order.  Wiley was in need of a lot of stuff  if  he was going to keep up  with his stall buddies. ( Wiley hangs out on a beautiful 400 acre waterfront farm near Cape Charles, Virginia and I didn’t want him to embarrassed in front of his new friends.)  A new rolled leather halter with a monogramed name plate seemed like a good start.  Of course, every self  respecting young colt has to have a cool coat for winter.   A  handsome  burgandy blanket piped with gray and a charcoal gray blanket to contrast with his light gray coat  seemed to be the perfect fashion statements  for stepping into the upcoming show season.  

Apparently  Wiley thought so too.  New halter,  new blanket — now he  held his head high when people passed  in front of his stall.   Not just some  horse turned out in a field,  Wiley’s demeanor changed.    No longer when you opened the stall  did  he  turn and face the corner.    No,  now he looked  directly at you and walked  forward to meet you,  ready to shake hoofs.    He was ready for some R-E-S-P-E-C-T  !        Women  have always known that a new outfit and a makeover  can make you  feel great but who knew  that it was the same for horses ?    Wildfire was  now on his way  and show season was just around the corner !   Next post —  Wiley’s first show.

I thought that after thirty years of being asked by my only son  “So, what would you  like for Christmas this year ?”  or  “If I give you money would it be better if you chose your own Christmas present ?”   that something was really rather strange this past year.  In the weeks leading up to the big day,  not a word  did  he say,  not one question did he ask about my Christmas gift  preferences.   Knowing that he usually felt a lot of uncertainty when shopping for  my present  I  assumed that he had decided to skip the shopping part entirely and just slip money into a  Xmas stocking.   I should mention that I,  on the other hand,  love to shop for Christmas.   Trying to decide on a really meaningful  gift  for family and friends,  one I think they will truly enjoy,  is a passion with me.   Since Virginia’s Eastern Shore is home to so  many artists and artisans,  I always  scour the Shore for some interesting  art  type gifts before I shift into what I think of as “high gear”.   “High gear”  is my annual Christmas shopping pilgrimage with a friend or two, usually  to Washington DC, sometimes to New York.  One of the  things I  love about living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is how easy it is to get to interesting  nearby  areas such as Williamsburg, Richmond, Washington ,  Annapolis,  Charlottesville, etc.,  as well as points north including Manhattan, Cape May, maybe even that den of iniquity, Atlantic City.    This past year we made the 4 hour drive  from the Eastern Shore to Washington,  laser focused on unearthing  some great deals over the next few days at  Tyson’s  Corner and  treating ourselves to lunch at Neiman Marcus.  Splurging  by staying at the Ritz , we parked  ourselves by the cozy fireplace in the evenings,  toasting  the season with hot toddys and cold  champagne.   So much fun, so little time and all  too soon we were on our way home. 

Still no  gift questions or comments from my son.  Then, on Christmas Eve, a  festive  dinner and presents after.   And  I must admit,  after  all of  the presents were opened and he  didn’t have a box or even an envelope  for me that I felt rather  disappointed.   About 11 pm he kissed me goodby, saying that he had to leave to meet some  friends.  No “sorry I couldn’t find anything I thought you would really like”,  no  “please use this to buy something nice”.   Just “Merry Christmas, Mom”.   At that point my first thought was that I should have had more than one child.  Although I am a firm believer that it is better to give than to receive,  truth be told, I was feeling rather disappointed.   Then, on Christmas morning  I received a call asking  if  we would possibly have the time after Christmas lunch to  join  him  at a friend’s  big waterfront horse farm south of  Cape Charles.  We  would and we  did.   And when I got there  he said  “Come look at this.”    We walked into the barn and there  in  a stall was a beautiful grey Arabian colt,  dressed  in a red halter with  a red Christmas bow in his mane.  After 20 years since I last had  a horse I was looking  into the eyes of  one of my  sweetest Christmas presents  ever… Wiley, my Christmas horse.