A year ago today, I saw something beautiful and I will always cherish it.

I didn’t write last year, and so, many of my memories and special moments from working at Wears Valley Ranch will never be preserved. But, I carry the year with me always: the joy that I saw being given to kids whose lives had been so horrific, or just plain unnoticed, and the peace and community and love in that special place of transformation and joy.

H was one of my girls, one of the girls that lived on the same floor as me, whom I taught phonics and reading . . . who knocked on my door well past her bedtime one night to show me she could pull her pajama pants up over her shoulders.

A year ago, she’d barely arrived at the Ranch, and even though we didn’t really know her, we tried to give her a nice party. Nothing fancy, just a cake and presents and singing.

She. was. beaming. Her entire face was a smile. It still makes me cry.

I love you, HW. Wherever you find yourself on your 12th birthday, I wish I were there to see your smile.

(For privacy, I'm only including pictures of this post's setting.)