Dear _____,

I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately. It’s something we all do at some point, right? It doesn’t matter where our lives are at in the present moment – something will suddenly remind us about our childhood, where we grew up and spend our formative years. You could live a short drive away from wherever your first “home” was, or maybe you’re like me and you now live thousands of miles away. Whatever it is, it’s a powerful feeling, and you can’t help but to revel in those memories for a little bit. For me, I think about growing up in the American Midwest, afternoons spent in wooded creeks that sprung to life with trickling water after heavy rains. I remember driving to neighborhood parks with friends in autumn evenings, filling empty time with car conversations that sometimes lasted hours. There are still remnants of cicada summers wedged between my ears and flashes of lightning bugs that flicker beneath my eyelids. Perhaps you know what I mean, with your own experiences and memories.

Because it’s different for everyone, yeah? That’s what makes nostalgia so beautiful: the memories that trigger those feelings vary from person to person. But we all share the experience of this kind of reminiscing and we all understand how impactful those memories are to who we’ve become today. And these memories? They don’t have to revolve around some grand life-changing moment we had back in the day – it can be a simple sensation, a smell or sound that call us back to a simpler time.

Sometimes it’s the view of a clear sky, a deep blue that you recognize from somewhere before. Sometimes it’s the sound of a lawn mower running, the smell of freshly cut grass filling the air. Maybe it’s the view of freshly fallen snow over the street, everything bathed in a soft whiteness before any footprints have disturbed the surface. Perhaps it’s the sound of a lonely train whistle in the middle of the night, ringing out against an audience of stars. It could be anything… but the feeling is the same.

Do you ever wish you could go back, back to one of those moments in time? Not to stay forever, but to simply sit in it? For an hour or two, feeling the years suddenly melt away for that brief moment as you’re back in a familiar place? I don’t know, I sometimes do. I feel it at random moments, sometimes every now and then and sometimes multiple times a day. When I’m listening to specific songs, when I’m biking to/from work, when I lay awake in bed unable to sleep but I’m at peace with being awake. It’s not like I crave the good old days and think they’re all behind me; I’m positive there are plenty of those days ahead. Maybe it’s just to remember where I’ve been, who I’ve been, and to give it the appreciation it deserves.

Maybe you feel the same way, from time to time. If you do, I’d be curious as to what memories come to you in these moments.

Originally written 08-09-2025

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