This is a wonderful little quote from a movie called “Runaway Bride.” Summers in small towns, especially in Kentucky, are unlike summers anywhere else in the world. For me, this summer has been a very educational experience. This is the first summer since I was a teenager that I have actually paid attention to the beauty of the nature that decorates our little corner of the world. I have never seen such blue skies, green grass or white clouds. It took my leaving this amazing state to be able to appreciate the things it had to offer. When I was young, I could not wait to get out of Middlesboro and the state of Kentucky as a whole. I thought I wanted the big city life. The lights, the glamour, and the fun. Oh how mistaken I was. That timeless saying “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” is truer than any other clich/ I have ever heard.
When you are young, time has no meaning, and for me, summers were long and wonderful. Endless, it seemed. If you talk to anyone who grew up in our area you realize that almost everyone tells the same story of how he/she spent his or her summer vacation. It doesn’t matter if the person you happen to be talking to is 20 years old or 70 years old. Fishing, swimming, exploring, and running barefoot through fields, meadows or yards. Porch swings, tire swings, and catching crawdads in the creek. Picking blackberries, climbing trees, building tree houses and licking golden drops of honey from a honeysuckle stem.
As long as the days seemed, there were still never enough hours in the day, or night. You played outside until it started to get dark and then you chased lightening bugs, listened to the crickets and the frogs or just lay on the grass or hood of the family car and watched the stars. Then, if you were like me, you still had enough time to watch TV.
It makes me sad to think that kids and teenagers today miss all of this because they are too busy with computers, TV, cell phones or iPods. You can have the best of both worlds! Don’t miss what’s going on in the outside world! I’m not just talking to the younger generation, dear readers, I’m addressing the adults, too.
As you grow older, you lose sight of those simple things in life and how much they meant to you. Life becomes hectic and the days still aren’t long enough, but only because you are so busy and driven to accomplish tasks and live up to responsibilities. Make time!
I have recently discovered that although I can never regain the happiness that those summer days filled me with, I can come close. I started taking time to see the beauty of those fields and meadows that I used to run through. To enjoy the smell of the fresh cut grass, the honeysuckle and the trees. To listen to the whip-o-wills, bird songs and the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves.
We can never go back to our youth, but I believe we can recapture some of the joy it brought us. Take time out of your hectic day and look around you. Watch a rose pink sunset or golden sunrise. Look at the way the sun’s rays dance through the clouds and the trees. Hunt a rainbow after a rain shower. Just step out onto your porch for 5 minutes and look at the stars! Open your eyes, your mind and your heart to the beauty our state offers. You’ll be amazed at what you see.
Michelle Martin is a staff writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. Contact her via e-mail at mmartin@middlesborodailynews.com.
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