Enjoying Spring Break
Spring break hit Olney last week. For some, it’s a panic to see the kids on the loose for a week or two, but for me, I love seeing all the exciting activities the kids partake in during spring break.
I will be at the Dollar General or another store in Olney, at the Graham Walmart, or in Wichita Falls, and hear excited chatting and laughing from the next aisle as some teenagers make a joke, talk about plans for spring break, and shuffle around the store having fun and letting off steam from bursting schedules and a deluge of schoolwork.
Their spring break is my spring break, and as things slow down at the newspaper, I find myself with just a little bit of extra time. I fill this time with extra trips to Wichita Falls to hunt for Fugglers and clearance clothes.
If you don’t know what a Fuggler is, you will have to look them up; they are ugly, funny little monsters that my lady and I find very cute and have begun collecting.
Hearing the chatter and laughter while I’m out and about gives me a certain youthful attitude again as I remember my spring breaks and my friends and fun we had during a time in life when the world of adult responsibilities was still far off in the future. The biggest worry was whether this zit would clear up and what to wear for the weekend party or the trip to the lake. The memories wash over me like a strong wind. I get to relive my youth all over again. Memories are not always exact copies of what took place and are often a mix of the best parts of what really happened, emotions, music, and imagination. These tend to warp a memory into either good or bad, and become our truth years later, no matter the facts of the events.
My spring break as a teen included trips to Feather Beach in Arlington. Back then, it was an open area claimed by teens old and young, and every so often, later at night, we would have a bonfire on the beach and possibly some libations when we were older. Trips to Feather Beach seemed few and far between, but held the fondest memories: a raging fire blazing away, loud 80’s music blasting from a nearby truck or car, couples cuddled around the fire, while others scattered around the fire and beach, all with lively conversations, laughter, and sometimes tears.
What are some of your fondest memories of spring break? Feather Beach was always on my friends’ and my spring break list and will always hold special spring break memories for me.
This is Will B saying, let the kids have their moment in the sun to enjoy the break from overloaded schedules, and let’s be a little more tolerant as the kids get a little rowdy while out and about.