Seabeck, Washington

When I was six, my parents went to Hong Kong for several weeks, leaving my sisters and I at home in Seattle. To cover for them, like a substitute teacher, they employed one of my father's grad students to take care of us while they were away. The woman they chose, called Lisa, was one of the most amazing friends I've ever made. She let us change the gears of my parent's car for her, turn the wheel whilst she was parking, would take us grocery shopping as well as doing all the stuff that we'd normally consider boring but now saw afresh as invigorating and cool.
Lisa used the money that my parents paid her for her time watching us to buy a horse. This was good for us because from then on (she says), she thought of the horse as partly ours and would take us out on it and would teach us the basics of riding. Shannon, as the horse was called, was a beautiful tall dark horse that would stomp and whinny as we walked up to her, hands trembling so much the carrot sticks we’d be holding jump about on our flattened palms.
That was over fifteen years ago, and Lisa with her horse, and now husband and two sons live over on the Kitsap Peninsula in western Washington. It’s a long way to go to find her there, but I’m going to try all the same…

Even if it’s just for a horse ride.