The life of an Intensive Care Bear

I'll admit, the title may sound pretty stupid. I never grew up watching the Care Bears. To this day I can't admit to seeing even five minutes of an episode. Nor did I know there was such a thing as a Care Bear Stare until this year. Despite all of this, it would seem that my new moniker at Creekside Farms is "The Intensive Care Bear".

If you know me at all, I've probably told you at least once how I've tried to avoid coaching like the plague. I've even remained fairly successful at doing so until last fall when I inherited some children to teach. It turns out I have enjoyed it far more than I expected. It would also seem that I laugh far more than a professional coach probably should.

This all started when one of Linda's kids decided to describe all of the people that coach her. Kim received the "particular about details" description, while Jenn earned the "confidence builder" award. Somehow (Unsurprisingly, I suppose) I received the title of the one who "pushes them". I've probably earned that title more than I'd like to admit. I do have a tendency to make people uncomfortable by pushing them out of their comfort zone. This made us all chuckle for a short while, but then it severely escalated when I struck gold with this meme on facebook:

Naturally this is what did us all in. I personally enjoy the tire iron he's holding. And so the moniker "Intensive Care Bear" was born. 

I don't know if I ever registered quite how hard I tend to push people before this all came about. But after some self reflection, I realized how true it was. Somehow through all of it though, they keep coming back. And every time they come back I push them harder. The short answer for the reason I push them is pretty simple: I want them to do better and I know they can. Therefore, they must push through it.

There is a long answer though. Somewhere, underneath all the sass I exude, I really do care for them. All of them. I want them to grow into strong, confident and bold young women that can handle the crap they have to go through every day. I hear stories about how hard it can be in schools these days and it makes me sad. I want them to know they can handle whatever this world throws at them and be better than before. And how else better to teach them than through horses? They're such an amazing equalizer. So am I the "Intensive Care Bear"? You'd better believe it.