03/24/08, 5:54am…the last post I putting up from Windchill’s story in 2008…

March 24th, 5:54m: Hello friends, I’m back. I took some time to try and recovery and recuperate. I’m sorry if that left a void, that wasn’t intentional. I’ve missed you too. I’m doing better – I can breathe easier now. I found myself writing similar things to folks who wrote out of concern, so I posted what I’ve been up to on the forum. I know that not everyone checks the forum yet, so I’ll copy and paste my post here so we’re all up to speed, okay? Here it is:

I received some emails from worried folks wondering if I’m okay so I wanted to post a quick note to let you know that I am okay. I was responding to some of those emails and figured since they were asking what you may be asking, maybe I should just cut and paste a response here to let you know what all I’ve been up to.

The reality is I tried all the hot toddy recipes you emailed or posted and have been in rehab for my now chronic alcoholism. I kept forgetting how many steps were in my program and so had to keep repeating it and then had to take anger counseling because of all of you cowgirls who led me awry… I’m of course kidding, after that first attempt with the hot toddy mix, I now use the ingredients for removing rust from my horse trailer.

I am doing better – can breathe much easier now. I find the lingering effects of the pneumonia have my energy reserves majorly tapped which has made it tough because unfortunately life doesn’t really slow down much just because I have. I also found in trying to help people with their grief over Windchill’s loss, I didn’t really deal with my own and so separating out the effects of the pneumonia from the probable depression or grief over his loss has been difficult and frustrating for me. So I took a step back to try and recover some from all the posting, and answering people’s heartfelt grief-filled emails to try and rest my own system.

I’m also doing more of the behind the scenes stuff to assist in getting Windchill’s non-profit up and running – working on the legal side of things as well as designing a new website that will give us a platform to build all of the things onto that we hope to have – educational things, legislative and my own personal goal of having a national online network connected to the site to connect people in the middle of equine rescues in with those that can help the way they did with us and Windchill. The world was a lifesaver and the support was so invaluable.

I appreciate your concerns and worry. I’m alive and recovering. I’ll slowly start catching up here on the forum, I see in the time I’ve been away there’s hundreds of posts so it’ll be a long time before I can catch up I’m guessing. I’ll post as I can, and I’ll blog on my site as well. It will be awhile before I’m back at the pace I was, I have unfortunately discovered I am apparently mortal – a frustrating discovery. In time I’ll regain the denial of that fact as it gets in the way of riding the scarier horses when you know you’re breakable. Denial can go a long way sometimes…

And we’ll start taking you up on the offers to help with the non-profit. After we’re through the formation part we can start focusing on the important part – implementing its mission. That’s going to take all of you – not me because I’m management so I plan to lead by issuing memos and taking long lunches (kidding – see, I am feeling better).

Thanks for being here guys – you mean a lot to me and all of us.

Your friend,

Jeff