If You Give A Boy A Rope

If you give a boy a rope, he will want a horse to go with it.

You’ll get him the best horse you can find, and then he will probably want a saddle and bridle and dummy too.

Then, he will probably spend hours begging you to "make a loop" for him... even though you may be busy cooking supper or patching jeans. He will insist. And you will make him one.. and another... and another.

And when a boy gets a saddle, he will need boots and spurs and a belt to go with it.…..

And then life as you know it will end.

There will be no more lazy weekends watching tv. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute of your time will be spent hauling horses, washing jeans and starching shirts.

THE RODEO.

And your house will be a mess. And your truck will be dirty. All because you gave a boy a rope.

Your weekends will be spent freezing or burning to death on a fold-up chair. And his weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, and learning new skills and having fun, and getting dirty. So dirty in fact that you will have to learn how to do laundry in a whole new way, like maybe at a carwash using the pressure washer.

And you will be there the day he catches his first steer, first 80 point ride, first check, and his very first buckle. And he will make you SO proud. The other moms will congratulate you. But you feel weird saying thank you because it's not you backing in the box or nodding for that bronc. It's him. He did this.

And right before your eyes, your little boy will be transformed from the baby who couldn't build a loop.... who now drives you to the rodeo.... who pays his own fees.

When you give a boy a rope, you give him more than just a rope. You give him a sport and talent and hope, and dreams, and friends, a new family, a place to learn about the life, room to grow as a person where he can push his limits, and bravery, and courage and LIFE, and memories. And he will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave a boy a rope.

Because you gave a boy a rope, you too will develop new/lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport and your friends. You will root together, keep times, and worry. Because you gave a boy a rope.

All because you gave a boy a rope

And built a loop for him.