"They Say Home Is Where The Heart Is"

In one of the most defining moments of my life, I stood in the middle of a cabin, toes covered in dirt, hair knotted with lake water, eyes clouded with the jaggededness of old wounds, staring disbelievingly at Layne. I had just spent the last half hour wearing a patch in the hardwood with my incessant pace and grumbled insecurities, my disparing hope for a family had spread to every corner in the room, and in a heartbeat with the simplicity only an eleven year old could muster she had declared she would be my fubbubly. What a fubbubly is I'm still not sure we've fully defined, but in that moment, and every moment after it's been an inbetween line of more than family, more than cousin and sister and friend, so much so that I'm sure I'll never find that perfect word to describe the hooking of our elbows and twining of our hearts.

It's with a breath of utter contentment that I sit here, toes polished in 'it's up to you' blue, hair conditioned and combed, eyes mended with the patch of a good sewer that I can say Layne is part of the best family I could have ever wished for myself. I hope she always giggles from under my funny bone, and always catches in my throat with her surprising softness.

And it's because of all this, that despite my dreadful fear of horses, saddles and ponies that I followed her out to the barn and one of her great loves to document the sun on her face on a beautiful Sunday.









She likes to pretend sometimes I'm not the funniest person ever...


But really we all know better ;)