On a Friday
She's moving slowly this morning.
Sleep came in spurts, if at all, and she spent most of the night out in her little sitting space by the stables. Flashbacks being what they've been lately, it was better for her. The house creaks and she jumps at shadows and it's better to jump outside where she knows she can escape. Logic tells her that she's being silly, but there's little that is logical about facing the memories she's fighting.
At sunrise she wanders inside and manages to catch another 45 minutes before she gives up. A quick shower and change of clothes later, Liz goes to get breakfast ready for her and her guests. Coffee made, she pulls cereal out of the pantry and makes sure there's fruit out. Any cooking can be done by people who want to cook. Her stomach is rebelling and she doesn't feel like choking down anything solid, so she takes her yogurt to the couch and turns on the TV only to come face to face with the shootings in Aurora. Her patience is limited though and once she has the details the TV is turned off and she returns to the silence of the morning. It might be Friday but it's a busy day and she knows she's going to be answering questions about Colorado. The kids know what's going on in the world.
It's a Veteran Volunteer day so a lot of the work load will be lessened. The younger vets especially tend to do a lot of the harder, manual labor so that means the stables can get power washed and all the stalls mucked out. The group that does the equine therapy also works with a group of the more troubled foster kids and she always makes sure she's around watching, just in case there's an issue. There has yet to be one and her heart is always warmed to see the kids and the soldiers working together.
Lorian has a lesson at noon and Liz is glad she will overlap with the veterans being here. She's bonded to one of the men and he likes to ride around the paths, Lorian on the saddle in front of him. They talk, and it's the most she's ever seen Lorian smile since she started coming. Her plotting mind wants Kaleb to adopt the little girl, but she'd never say it out loud. It's a lot of pressure to put on a veteran, especially when it comes to a kid like Lorian. There was a good chance she will never live truly independently.
Things will, as always shut down between one and five. There's a group of teens coming at five. She, Kara, and Matt all have groups of three and each are working on different things. Today, Liz is giving the jumping reins over to Kara. She'll take the nature walks. Lessons will be over at seven and then the teens are closing down the stables and she'll do her final walk through around nine.
Hopefully, tonight, she will sleep. But her hopes are not high. At least she's keeping busy and things are much easier with Jethro than she expected. Maybe he came to the same decision that she did - that snarking at each other just wasn't worth it. It doesn't matter the journey though, the outcome has been a much easier time than planned for and her time with Jenny has meant the world to her. Daniel is sweet and his enthusiasm for the horses has made him a great little helper. She knows keeping him busy helps Jenny and Jethro as well.
So, it's a day at the ranch. She sips her coffee and smiles when she hears Matthew's old pickup rattle down the drive. She gets up and goes to pour him a cup of coffee. From somewhere in the house, she hears a creak. At least one person is up and about.
Sleep came in spurts, if at all, and she spent most of the night out in her little sitting space by the stables. Flashbacks being what they've been lately, it was better for her. The house creaks and she jumps at shadows and it's better to jump outside where she knows she can escape. Logic tells her that she's being silly, but there's little that is logical about facing the memories she's fighting.
At sunrise she wanders inside and manages to catch another 45 minutes before she gives up. A quick shower and change of clothes later, Liz goes to get breakfast ready for her and her guests. Coffee made, she pulls cereal out of the pantry and makes sure there's fruit out. Any cooking can be done by people who want to cook. Her stomach is rebelling and she doesn't feel like choking down anything solid, so she takes her yogurt to the couch and turns on the TV only to come face to face with the shootings in Aurora. Her patience is limited though and once she has the details the TV is turned off and she returns to the silence of the morning. It might be Friday but it's a busy day and she knows she's going to be answering questions about Colorado. The kids know what's going on in the world.
It's a Veteran Volunteer day so a lot of the work load will be lessened. The younger vets especially tend to do a lot of the harder, manual labor so that means the stables can get power washed and all the stalls mucked out. The group that does the equine therapy also works with a group of the more troubled foster kids and she always makes sure she's around watching, just in case there's an issue. There has yet to be one and her heart is always warmed to see the kids and the soldiers working together.
Lorian has a lesson at noon and Liz is glad she will overlap with the veterans being here. She's bonded to one of the men and he likes to ride around the paths, Lorian on the saddle in front of him. They talk, and it's the most she's ever seen Lorian smile since she started coming. Her plotting mind wants Kaleb to adopt the little girl, but she'd never say it out loud. It's a lot of pressure to put on a veteran, especially when it comes to a kid like Lorian. There was a good chance she will never live truly independently.
Things will, as always shut down between one and five. There's a group of teens coming at five. She, Kara, and Matt all have groups of three and each are working on different things. Today, Liz is giving the jumping reins over to Kara. She'll take the nature walks. Lessons will be over at seven and then the teens are closing down the stables and she'll do her final walk through around nine.
Hopefully, tonight, she will sleep. But her hopes are not high. At least she's keeping busy and things are much easier with Jethro than she expected. Maybe he came to the same decision that she did - that snarking at each other just wasn't worth it. It doesn't matter the journey though, the outcome has been a much easier time than planned for and her time with Jenny has meant the world to her. Daniel is sweet and his enthusiasm for the horses has made him a great little helper. She knows keeping him busy helps Jenny and Jethro as well.
So, it's a day at the ranch. She sips her coffee and smiles when she hears Matthew's old pickup rattle down the drive. She gets up and goes to pour him a cup of coffee. From somewhere in the house, she hears a creak. At least one person is up and about.