“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted…”

Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.
–Garrison Keillor

• I look back on my earliest days in the saddle and laugh at myself: I was just about six and I showed up wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, a bananda around my neck and fancy cow-girl boots brand new from Payless Footwear. After I was put in my place and showed the proper attire to safely ride English style, I threw myself into the equestrian world headfirst–right behind my mother’s wallet.
  But now that I am starting to teach and assist children now, all the little moments to me mean the world to them. For them to FINALLY understand what posting on the correct diagonal actually means and how to do it is a momentous occasion for me–but to them, the moment when the pony stops to whinny to her friends and the very sound shakes their body makes them laugh more than my antics ever could–well, that’s what they will remember.
  

Lesson Learned: Children are like photo albums. All of the memories that mean the most are protectively placed into neat little pages and glued down securely–but everyone’s photo album is different–and kids most precious memories might not be ours. Cherish them anyway–if you remember what they remember, it’ll be all the more special.