The Best Of 2009: The Best Place.

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

Well the best place for me is definitely nothing new for this year. This particular place has been my little retreat since the moment I first touch my little feet on the property.

What is this place you ask?

The barn.

It's not a fancy place by any means, but there's just something about it. No matter how upset or stressed I may be on a given day, the moment I pull up the driveway of this place and open the door to exit my car, all negative feelings melt away. And for the few short hours I spend there almost every day, I am in heaven. It is a place where I am not judged and can be 100% myself. It doesn't matter what I look like, or what I do for a living... all that matters is that I am there because of my love for horses. It's amazing how a common interest can bring together such different people.

I also doesn't hurt that I'm met by this gorgeous girl when I show up.

No matter where I've kept my horse Chelsea for the almost 10 years that I have owned her, that barn has been my retreat from the world. It's amazing how being at the farm completely tunes out the rest of the world and the only thing that matters is me and this horse.

I know this is making me sound like some lovesick little girl talking about her horse.... but it's not like that. It's so hard to explain in words the feeling I get when I am there. But it's true, and real.. and there's nothing childish about it. When I really think about it, it's pretty amazing that I have such a close bond with an animal that is 1200lb and could turn on me in a heartbeat if she really wanted. It's almost magical.