05/20/2026
Pop can rolling down the street. Just a pop can. But instantly, it brought me back.
As I sat in town, volunteering and reading my book “The Great Alone” this pop can brought me back to pieces of the city life I grew up with. Cars passing by, seagulls calling overhead, people laughing, shouting, living around you. The sun was warm on my face, the air felt just right, and for a moment I just sat there and smiled.
It made me feel thankful for both lives … city and country. But if I had to choose, country every time of course!
There’s something freeing about having space. Space to build a life, grow gardens, raise animals, and create memories on land that’s yours. But also reserving space for the life that came before this one because those little pieces of our past shape us into who we are today.
What made me laugh was how that little sound pulled me back even further. To wedding days when cans dragged behind cars after a couple got married. To clipping a pop can onto the back tire of a bike so it sounded like it roared down the road. Something I just showed my kids yesterday evening.
Funny how that works, isn’t it? One sound, one smell, one song, and suddenly you’re somewhere else for a moment.
I’m glad I paused reading long enough to hear that pop can rolling through the leaves.
Sometimes it really is the little things that catch us off guard and make us smile. And maybe those are the memories worth holding onto the tightest.
