The Incredible Dawn Folks

She’s a horse person, through and through and you’ve probably never heard of her. Let me tell you a little about the immutable Dawn. As a fearless rider, she has won countless endurance races and she speaks fluent Navajo.  My parents, Dawn, and her mother, Betty met when they were singing in the Western Colorado Chorale and became fast friends. My family has been going over to dinners at their dusty ranch house since I was a kid.

She was a National Park Ranger across the Western Slope and worked as a nurse with my mom. Dawn was also in my Dad’s hunting crew. Fun fact, I skipped senior prom to go camping with her and my parents in southern Utah (the scenery blew sweaty-gym-gyrating out of the water). This is just the tip of the iceberg concerning Dawn. We’d be here for a long while if I sifted through all of my memories of her.

Being a horse person comes with risks; and, Dawn has had her share of harrowing experiences. Example: there’s a spot on her head where you can feel her brain. Most recently was the failure of her truck brake that resulted in a major trailer accident. The truck and horse trailer (horse inside) rolled down her driveway, down the hill, across a normally busy street, and finally stopped hanging over part of a hill.  By the grace of God, no one was hurt and the horse survived. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, a couple of weeks later, Dawn was biking with a friend, got into an accident and broke her femur.

Remembering I had photos of Dawn with her horses from last September, I knew what I could do to “help” despite the distance. About a week before my Dad passed away, Dawn asked if my oldest sister and husband wanted to bring their kids over to see the horses. That was the relief from all of the emotions we desperately needed–especially the kids. Joining the throng headed over, I brought my camera along and documented the afternoon.

Cue story from last year. Everything happens for a reason. I used to get so frustrated with that saying. Until last year. My husband, Jake, broke his collarbone at the same time my Dad’s cancer was worsening significantly. I remember calling my sister asking, ‘Why is all of this happening at the same time?’ I kept praying about it. Three weeks before my Dad died, Hurricane Dorian hit the East Coast. Since Jake couldn’t deploy for Dorian relief with his collarbone, he was able to be with my family and me for the last weeks of my Dad’s life. I’ve stopped questioning why things happen.

Dawn may never know why she had two lightning strike accidents happen ridiculously close together (honestly I don’t think she’s concerned with the why). Since I’ve known her, she has always been willing to share her journey as a Christian. She’s is an example of someone who has unwavering faith in God. Everything happens for a reason. God has a plan. Dawn knows that.

Back to the afternoon with Dawn and the kids. She has always been there for our family. I looked at the photos from last September and realized, I never finished saving them. I hadn’t sent them. My Mom had told me Dawn was going to be away from her horses for months while rehabbing so I picked four photos - two of each of her horses and ordered prints my sisters, mom, and I could give her. 

Printed photos have so much to offer; but, are often underestimated because of the ease associated with taking them. Being able to give Dawn memories with her horses while healing was the least I/we could do. And sometimes it really is the little things. 

And we’ll all Funk on okay. 

Dear Reader, that catchy closing line is under as I don’t recommend using a Funk as a flotation device or it may endure the test of time, stay tuned, dun dun dun