Happy New Year (Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018)

As I sit here with a few hours remaining of 2017, I reflect on the highs and lows that we experienced. 2017 was a roller coaster of emotions filled with much laughter, great sorrow, and many tears both sad and happy.

I am so very thankful for all the support we received this year, not just financially but also emotionally and morally. It is impossible for me to thank everyone for your generosity, kindness, and support.

For me, the Sanctuary has always been my life long goal, it is exactly what I knew I wanted to do when I was a small child. I've made the decision to sacrifice and make the Sanctuary my life. It's the choice I made years ago. What humbles me is the support I receive from all of you. The Sanctuary is not simply a home for old horses. It is my dream, my passion, my life. Your willingness to help humbles me and leaves me without words. I struggle to know how to say Thank You. Thank You seems as though it's not enough but it is what I can offer.

We experienced great sadness this year with the passing of Rabbit (and watching her struggles to know when the right time would be to say goodbye) and Ivan (with his sudden loss at such a young age). There is still great stress with knowing Bo is not far behind in leaving this world. His diagnosis of heart failure was (and still is) devastating. His diagnosis reminds us all that life is fragile and you should never take one day for granted.

We also saw great joy by meeting new followers and supporters. Without your support, we wouldn't have been able to sleep easy knowing we have a brand new automatic waterer or that the horses are snug in their stalls eating high quality hay during this cold snap. It is these blessings that I cherish the most because this support means the most, it's means comfort for our senior horses.

I mentioned that there were many tears both of sadness and of joy. The sadness was the loss of our Sanctuary residents but the tears of joy come from unexpected support. Just this month we received a generous donation from an anonymous donor and his or her generosity left me in tears.  Such generosity not only leaves me speechless but also humbled. I have been humbled many times this year and I am so very thankful.

I am looking forward to 2018. There is much planning that needs to be done and I am excited for the help in continuing to move forward. Moving forward means the potential for opening our doors to more deserving seniors that need a soft place to call home for their final days/years on earth. These senior horses are the reason we deal with 20 below temperatures with 40 below wind chills in the winter and why we deal with 100+ heat indexes in the summer and get carried away by mosquitoes. They are the reason we are here and they are the reason why we continue to stay here to try and make a difference even if it's only for a handful of horses.

Happy New Year!