Final Memoir

The day was young, the air was fresh, and it was five o'clock in the morning. This morning in late January was a special day. I stretched and yawned, attempting to leave the warmth of the cozy blanket. I then pulled myself, in a zombie nature, out of the bed and into motion toward the door. I slumped into the shower and turned the water on. The hot water and steam cleared all my nightmares away and woke me up. I finished quickly, put on my makeup, and got dressed. Warm jacket, dark blue jeans, mismatched socks, a cozy long sleeved shirt, and my worn in black converse. We were ready for the road.
The drive was long and windy. Across the middle of the island, we drove through Waimea to a range of magnificent escapades on the side of the mountain. With hills, trails, stables, sections, and a warm little cottage for the workers and visitors, this place was a real horse range. Acres and acres of beautiful bright green grass that reminded us of Willy Wonka’s edible grass room. It was the first time I was going to ride a horse in a long time.
Although the activity we were about to do was exciting enough itself, this day was not important just because of that. It was my best friend’s birthday. Not just any birthday, though. The last birthday we would celebrate together. She was moving soon after, and we all knew we wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while. The situation gave me a bitter-sweet feeling. Like a sour patch kid. It was sad that she was leaving, but it just made us appreciate the time we had left together. So, we were delighted to spend this beautiful sunny day together to celebrate.
We didn’t really think about it until we got there. We didn’t think about the fact that horses are big. Horses are tremendously big. We didn’t think about how it may be scary to get on these large, magnificent animals. When we saw the horses, we looked at each other and laughed. We both could tell each other's thoughts from the faces we displayed. We shared a petrified feeling. They were giant; about 8 times our sizes. The bubbly worker called the birthday girl first to get up on her new friend. She shivered and cringed, then walked down and got on the small podium. “It isn’t so bad”, she reassured me. Then went her dad, followed by her sister, me, mariah, and her mom. She was right; it wasn’t so bad. It was really cool. The woman guided us through section upon section, giving us tips on how to ride the horses.
Across green meadows, we trotted, galloped, and cantered on the horses. When we cantered, we laughed so hard, just trying to hold on for our lives. I almost flew off of my horse, so when we stopped I was relieved. It was so fun! My horse was a medium size and caramel brown, with a beautiful white mane. She was stronger than she looked. All of our horses seemed to match us, and had such funny attitudes that seemed to coincidentally match their riders. We were having so much fun. I was so happy to enjoy this time with her. I loved her family so much. They we like my second family. I had been through so much with her, and she has helped me overcome so many struggles. I had even lived at her house at one time for months when I needed a place to go and support. I was sad to see her leaving.
This experience was so great. As we rode on our horses, we laughed and joked and enjoyed the morning sun. “Working up an appetite?”, her dad asked everyone as we came closer to the end of the long trail. We all responded quickly with a yes and trotted into the gate. One by one, we got off our horses, with the help of the worker. As they got down from their horses, I looked upon the green grass and stared out as far as I could see across the ocean. I thought about how far she would be. I thought about how I wouldn’t see her for a while, and wouldn’t celebrate her birthday with her next year. It made me feel an empty feeling, suddenly, in my heart. I then realized how great of a day I had, and the sad feelings shifted to a growing feeling of gratitude. I was so lucky to have had such an amazing day with my best friend, and I knew I would cherish this day forever.