Familiarity

I have really been focusing on my one little word for 2012.  I have lots of changes happening, and a few more in the planning stages.  I am really learning to have courage and embrace change completely.  That being said, it is so far out of my comfort zone that every once in a while I need a bit of familiarity.  I find myself gravitating to places that I'm rooted to.  Places that stir comfortable images in my mind and places that just feel safe.  Last week on a warm evening I trudged through the slush and snow to visit one of my favorite places.  The old red barn that I used to spend so much time in when I was young sits right behind my parents home.  It has changed over time, but the way I feel when I visit has not.  It's one of those places that I can stand in and feel peace.  It overwhelms me every time.  It plays such a huge role in the memories of my childhood.  The old leather bridals, the pitchforks and lead ropes, and the smell of the saddles in the tack room spur something inside of me.  I can't remember a bad moment in the barn.  I can't remember a time when I didn't look forward to being there right next to my dad.  He doesn't have the opportunity to visit here that often anymore, but I do and each time I do it stirs my heart and brings a smile to my face.  I know my dad has those same feelings when he visits and because he doesn't have that choice anymore, I took these images for him.  He patiently waited inside while I visited the red barn that he worked so hard to build and keep nice, and I snapped these images so I could run back inside and show him that not much has changed there.  It's not quite the same as visiting in person, but the same smile that it brought me crept into his face when he looked at what I captured in my camera.  On this day he needed to feel that same familiarity that I did.  I'm glad I could share it with him.