In saving and serving we experience emotion that often cannot be labeled or described, only felt. Our work teaches us to carry a different brand of compassion, conviction, and commitment, and in learning and growing we must feel in ways that previously were unimaginable. We somehow swim through a swath of deep emotions that keep us wiping our eyes with the back of our hands…..and coming back again… because we are the last and best chance that our horses, the residents of Red Bucket, have. In the varied and most often unexpected nature of our work, we find validation in those events that must be acknowledged, celebrated, and sung about. Today, with another feeling that is also undefined, but somehow has joy at its core and an exuberance that minimizes even the goose bumps, we announce…and sing for all to hear, that Durham has found his forever home! He was rescued with two other magnificent mustangs only a few hours before he was to make the horrifying and deadly trip to the nightmare that would await him at a Mexican slaughter plant. At Red Bucket, Durham found compassion….and a commitment that was unconditional and without an expected timeframe or deadline. Durham also found Jenon. Durham’s stoic and guarded stance was met not with the challenge of unlocking his behavior, but with Jenon’s intelligent, intuitive desire to understand Durham’s heart and mind. She never considered his complexity to be a barrier, but sought to know him…and have him be understood. It is said that mustangs are “one-person horses”, and Durham has found his one person. With emotion that is not clearly defined, but embraced along with the tears that we have shed this last week, we congratulate Jenon and Durham…and wish them both a happy birthday! Deepest appreciation to Brandon and Kristen Durham for their generosity in helping us re-write the middle and ending to Durham’s special story, Dreams really do come true.