“Thanks to the Interstate Highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything,” said Charles Kuralt a CBS journalist. This makes me think about how we as Americans just go through life as if we are in a race. We are always on-the-go, doing something. We sometimes forget and lose track of the people that we really care about. We don’t really think about what if someone you cared about was gone. We just assume that they will always be there. I believe we should just slow down in life. This became really real to me two years ago.
It was July 2005 and I was getting ready to go on RAGBRAI with my aunt and uncle and my mom. I had just talked to my dad before I left to go on the trip. My parents were divorced so that is why he didn’t go with us. We left to go to my aunt and uncles house to get the camper ready to go. We were ready to hit the road and head to northern Iowa.
We finally arrived to the first town where RAGBRAI started. We set up camp and made dinner. Everyone decided to hit the hay after we ate. There was a long day ahead of us the next day. It was five a.m. and we were off. We were ready to head out for the first day. I didn’t ride the first day, so I was in charge of watching my little bratty cousins. They are so spoiled and mean. “How was I so lucky to get the chance to watch my cousins?” I thought sarcastically. When we were at the campsite we played at the park and watched movies until everyone else got back. Then we made an awesome dinner and went to bed and did it all over again in the morning.
The next night my mom came up to me and said, “Autumn I need to tell you something.” I could tell something was up just by her facial expression and the tone in her voice. We walked over to the playground. She took me and uttered, “Autumn your dad has passed away.” I couldn’t believe it. I was in total shock. I immediately wanted to go home and see him, but I knew he wouldn’t be there. This made me think and wish that I had spent more time with him. This experience showed me that I should just take time to be with the ones that I care about.
Because of this experience I believe people should slow down in life and not in go through life in a big rush. And as the cliché goes people should just slow down to smell the roses. I didn’t realize what I had until it was gone. I wish I had spent more time with him and talked to him more. I have learned from this and I try to just slow down. I think people should just enjoy life and have fun not be in a hurry all the time or on-the-go. There is so much to do and so little time. This I Believe.