Days of my youth

 If I could go back to the days of my youth, I'd try to relive every happy moment, both big and small. I remember going for a haircut with my dad on a Saturday morning, holding his hand as we crossed the street to the soda fountain. There, he looked at me the way only a father does and told me I could have anything I wanted, but not to tell Mom.

I'd go back to Sunday drives, pulling over and having a picnic by the side of the road, the peaceful sounds of nature, far from the noises of man. We'd leave the car unlocked because back then, people were honest, and the bad guys didn't exist. We would walk in the fields and gather wildflowers that mom would take home and display as a reminder of our day.

I'd go back to a first crush, when we found ourselves holding hands as I walked her home from school, and stole my first kiss quickly so her mom wouldn't see out the window. All the way home, I'd taste her lips and walk on clouds knowing I'd see her tomorrow.

Throughout my youth, I loved and was loved in return. The love of parents ,siblings, and a grandmother who taught me the old ways of doing things, I remember to this day. Aunts and uncles, cousins, all who had an impact on me throughout my life.

And then one day, I don't know which, I was a young man who was too cool to be seen with my parents and wanted nothing to do with almost everybody. I retreated into my world, a world of outdoor concerts and long hair I refused to cut. A world of defiance and rebellion that ended when I was sworn into the Navy by my own father after a bag of pot was discovered in my sock drawer.

The days of my youth became my memories that filled my heart with the simple things I realized I needed to be reminded of so they wouldn't sail away on the wings of time.

The days of my youth are long gone now, and memories fade. Photographs are left in a book gathering dust as smartphones capture anything they want, spilling out like gumballs from an antique dispenser long forgotten.

If I could go back to my youth, I'd capture as much as possible and never let go of the people, places, and things that shaped my life in ways only they could. If only I knew that back then.

Mike 2026