Look for the Sunsets

by Michele Boy | October 10, 2024

  On Tuesday afternoon I drove to southeast Colorado to watch my daughter cheer at a junior high football game. I smile at the things I do that I wouldn’t have done before she was born. 
  I have said before I was not a cheerleading type of person but watching her and the team made me smile. Seeing all the parents and grandparents who drove to watch their boys play football warmed my heart. 
  If life is about experiences, why do we stay in the familiar and not open ourselves up to new ideas, new places, and trying new things? 
Maybe because it’s safe, comfortable, and easy? Maybe because we are tired from following our kids everywhere?
  I admit driving an hour and a half to watch the game wasn’t on my let’s try something new list. But watching the train roll through next to the football field where the kids played, the girls cheered, and the small “away team” stands were well occupied with family and friends, made me happier than some of the bigger travels I have taken. 
  The town was a humbling reminder of how much we have in our own little town. 
  Do you often think to yourself I wish we had this or that? Of course I would like a few more stores to shop locally. I would love facilities like an indoor pool, and some of the abandoned properties to be sold so that we could have more housing.
  Some people think I am always looking at the sunny side and ignoring the faults. Yes there are many  things we are lacking compared to other towns. But I believe in starting from a point of view of what we do have. We have a movie theatre, bowling alley, and a golf course to name a few. We have good people who look out for one another.  We have a food pantry that works hard to meet the needs of our community. 
  I have lived in a huge metropolitan area. It’s loud, buildings so high you can’t see the sunset, and so many people you can easily become callous towards your fellow man. 
  Take a drive to another town. You will see the things we have. You might also see some things we could do better. What do you do with that? 
  Do you try to help bring that new idea to Syracuse? That new business? That service?
Or do you just complain? 
No some things just won’t work here. That is okay. Maybe it isn’t it’s time yet? 
  But maybe you could try serving in one of our local boards or volunteering? 
Many hands make light work. 
  Sometimes maybe the things you are searching for are right next to you. 
  No I haven’t left the sunny side completely. While I wrote this the song from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory came to mind as Gene Wilder sang Pure Imagination. 
“If you want to view paradise 
Simply look around and view it 
Anything you want to, do it 
Want to change the world? 
There’s nothing to it.”