Treasure the Old...Bring on the New!

Driving home from the season's final foxhunt with a Yukon full of filthy teenagers slumped over each other sleeping soundly and dragging their four tired, muddy horses behind in a three-horse trailer, I notice spring has already flung its way into Mississippi.

Before I discovered my next consuming pastime, the drive home from the last day of foxhunting produced pangs of dread for the long months to August 'till we could chase our beloved wily creatures together again. Now as I reflect on this special season, dread is replaced with joy and gratitude for the memories and blessings this season revealed.

Happiness can be fleeting, but joy everlasting when our lives are cradled so obviously by a gracious God. Although the past year brought unspeakable tragedies, the good that has come out of them overflows daily.

After losing my once-in-a-lifetime Thoroughbred, Chase, at the first foxhunt, my other horses, the noble young Thoroughbred, Pilot, Chase's mischievous son, Flash, Chase's flashy chestnut brother, Baker, Barbie-doll Saddlebred beauty, Spring, and even trusty Percheron cross, Wagner, gave well more than their all to make this season work for many old and new friends. Then came the dark, young, never-been-out-of-the-arena/just-off-the-track Thoroughbred, Max, needing a home, and the Crews house expanded again to give him a loving spot to graze.

My son, Turner, proved his riding skill and dedication to the hunt by continuing to follow the hounds in the Yukon with his rapidly mending arm broken due to Chase's last hunt, and then back on Flash within weeks of the disaster. Max learned the art of hunting and took many old and new riders out for great sport. In his first hunt season, he earned the privilege of carrying beginners...a feat I have never seen done regularly and so well by such a young horse.

As I bump along highway 16 towards Canton, I glance over the fields looking for dark figures lurking in groups....or maybe they've already started breaking up....redbuds are in full bloom and, in my mind, that's when the blessed turkeys really start to rumble.

Turner's head bobs on his chest in spite of his riding friends...old and new...draped all around him, asleep as well, and I envy his nap. On Thursday, that napping nod will hopefully snap to attention at first Gobble. If not, his mother and father will be there for our last time with him for opening day of youth turkey season 2012 to punch him in the side and focus the video camera. If not, we'll at least have a trip to the bakery lined up before school. He is, after all, 15, and bottomless when it comes to food.

No time to regret leaving the coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and yes, this year, the otters our hounds find to chase alone....on to the turkeys with no time to spare. Take a kid hunting tomorrow or just spend time with a young person whether it is yours or someone else's that shares your same interests. Whether knitting or kneading dough, teaching them how to cook or play guitar, the memories are priceless and friendships effortless when wrapped with the camaraderie of common joy. Celebrate your friends, but bring on the new! You'll treasure these memories forever, but most of all, so will they.

Which brings me to why I'm telling you this and invited you to read this blog: I want you to download my first book, Antithesis, for just 99 cents, a "come meet my friends" rate.

It's totally packed with action, adventure, and enough romance to have you hammering on your screen to see what happens next.

I guarantee it.

And it's funny – I hope you'll laugh out loud and text me every time you do.

Did I mention that it's on Kindle's exclusive promotion for the next three months and if you're a Prime member, you can get and GIVE it to your friends free? But don't read it because it's only 99 cents. Read it because it's fun.

Give it a try. Laugh a little...well, maybe even a lot...and bring on the new. Come meet my friends.

Antithesis – Antithesis Series, Book 1
99 cent friendship e-book rate
$25 signed hardback commemorative edition

Impasse – Antithesis Series, Book 2
$2.99 e-book
$25 signed hardback commemorative edition

Nemesis – Antithesis Series, Book 3
$9.99 e-book
$25 signed hardback commemorative edition


www.AllisonCrewsBooks.com