My name is Riley Tanner. I’m thirteen. My mom is in the Air Force, which means I’ve lived a lot of places. I was born in Boston, but I’ve also lived in California, North Dakota, and Italy. I don’t have any brothers or sisters and I never knew my dad. I always wondered about him. These days we live with my grandmother on Cape Cod.

“My grandmother’s house was huge and right down the street from Sagamore Beach. It was an old colonial style house that had a basement, first floor, second floor and an attic. The paint on the outside was chipping off and it needed to be repainted. The yard needed to be cared for, all two acres of it, but no one seemed to mind the mess.”

I didn’t know it yet, but it would become a lot more than just a place to stay.

Moving gets easier in some ways and it never gets easier in others. You get good at reading rooms. Belonging is harder.

“I wanted to cry. I was having such a good day and wanted to share everything with her. Even though she was my mom, we were best friends. Lately, I was so upset with her about moving again that it made me not want to talk about things.”

My mom tries. She leaves notes before I’m up in the morning and packs my lunch. She works long hours. When she calls to check on me, I don’t always tell her everything.

“I think it’s funny how adults think that they can hide their emotions, but not from me and not from most kids I know that are my age. I wish adults would just be honest and say what’s happening.”

Things started to change when I got to Cape Cod. On the first day of school, I made two friends, Chloe Reagan and Sebastian Cook. I wasn’t expecting that. Grandma Brown approved of both of them, which matters. She keeps a full schedule between the napping, baking, biking, walking, and cooking. She also has a way of saying the right thing at the right moment. She always has. I don’t know if that’s faith or wisdom or just her. Probably all three.

Basketball was always where things made sense.

“The ball felt amazing in my hands. It always did but tonight it was different. The sun was setting and there were only a few clouds in the sky.”

Life, like basketball, tends to keep you on your toes.

Buckle up.

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