In high school, I always loved snow days. It gave us a chance to forget about school for a day or in the scenario of this year, a whole week. One would be pressed in trying to find some good in the last few weeks of weather, but it has allowed me to notice something that I had not realized in my rich history of snow days. This realization came last week while traveling for an FFA event.
The day started like any other. Chandler, CD, and I gathered in Ames and left en route to Edgewood- Colesburg. The drive there was uneventful. With a quick stop at Kwik Star to fill the truck and our stomachs up, we made good time. As we arrived at the school, the day went as planned, except for one minor detail. Now in Iowa we see a lot of snow, rain, wind, humidity, and just about every weather condition you can think of, and the craziest thing is that in one day we can see all of these combined. Now there is one condition that I have left out and it turns out to be the one that even the best Midwest drivers refuse to drive in. I will give you a hint, it rhymes rice. ICE. Now as the day progressed we heard a few reports of this three- letter word, but had work to get done, so we kind of brushed it off. A few of the advisors had told us that we probably should get going, so we did. As the three of us walk outside we almost all fall as there is a thick sheet of ice on the sidewalks. This continues as we make our way to the vehicle. As we let the ice melt off the windshield, we devise a plan to make it home safely. Slow and steady wins the race, so we take off. The first 50 miles or so were normal driving conditions, but as we pass Waterloo on Highway 20, the conditions change. A semi hauling hogs pass us at a good clip, but quickly slows down. I make the decision to fall in behind him and slow down the pace. Not too long after that we came upon flashing lights and slowed to a creep. In a two-mile stretch, there were 7 cars in the ditch including one semi. After seeing this, we made an executive decision to stop at another Kwik Star to wait it out. The next part of this journey made me realize something.
After our hour-long stop, we decided to keep moving, but this time on the back roads and at a 20 mile per hour pace. To not bore you with any more details we made it back to Ames just before 2 am. A 2 ½ hour drive had turned into a 5 ½ hour journey, but in the last 3 hours, the time seemed to fly by. By going slow, we were able to have a great conversation about varying topics, the present, and life, something I realized I take for granted. All too often we go 100 mph to get through our daily lives. Sports, work, school, and the various activities we partake in making our lives move fast. It’s crazy that such an awful icy situation could make me open my eyes to slow down and smell the roses. An old cowboy artist by the name of Chris Ledoux sings a song called, “It Ain’t the Years, it’s the Miles.” We put on a lot of miles in our daily lives, maybe not in distance, but in what we do with our days. Slow down and enjoy those miles, because we never know when those miles might run out.
I don’t mean to get somber in the ending of this, but it is definitely something to think about. Our teachers, coaches, parents, and family always tell us that time flies, so don’t blink, because you might just miss a few years of your life. I will end with a challenge for y’all. Live in the moment, take in your surroundings, and most of all make your time count by being intentional.
God Bless,
Jake Hlas
2018-2019
NE State Vice-President
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