Light a Fire

Every once in a while we see something that gives us a lot of great memories!

I think one of the quintessential things that I can think of from being a kid is evenings in the park and other wooded areas, where it's just getting dark or is already dark, and seeing the many creatures of the night. One particular creature is truly special for me, as it is for many Americans.. the firefly!

It's been years, maybe decades, since I've seen a firefly that I can remember. I might have seen one ONCE randomly but I certainly forget now. I do remember being at the park, or in my parents back yard when I was a kid and seeing the fire flies popping up everywhere. Those were some really great memories!

The other night, I was taking a walk after tossing the trash out in the dumpster and I wanted to get some exercise, as I've been lacking in that department for a little bit. I was on a stroll and suddenly saw a yellow-ish dot off in the distance. Being the age I am.. I was thinking "fuck, am I having a stroke when out on a walk?!?!?" and got pretty nervous for a second hahaha. Thankfully though.. it turned out to be quite harmless and ended up being a nice old fashioned fire fly! It was truly a special sight to see.

It was a week or two since that walk before I got to take my next one, but since then I've been trying to take one multiple times a week to see them. I was thinking that the first one was likely a fluke because it was just a single, or maybe it was two, fire flies in the area. On the walk though, I seemed to have found a little honey hole with them in it! There is one section of a wooded area that seems to be where they live during the day, and I saw those little fellas lighting up a damn storm, it was wonderful!

It's funny how something so small, yet so powerful can have an impression on us. Getting reminded of life as a kid was a great thing because as much as I love the world we live in, it's always nice to reminisce back to those days, when things felt "simpler" but may not have been simple at all. It's going back to the feelings of being a child perhaps..

I don't believe my son has seen many fire flies in his day, as he is always in bed at the time when they are out. I told him about the fire fly the other day, knowing that I needed to make sure to also promise to take him out to where I see them in a few weeks when it gets darker earlier. As much as I love the sun going down later in the evening, it makes it a challenge because the little man doesn't get to stay up to see the waning of the daylight. We are for sure going to make an exception for the fireflies though!

What about you, do you have a memory of childhood that you got exposed to recently? What was it? Let me know in the comments!