Trina Machacek
The freedom of independence is quite a responsibility. The freedom part is what we have always seemed to strive for as we go through life. Being older has always meant more freedom. I’m sure we have all looked back at the road of the ages. When you are 4 you want to be 5. Holding up all your sticky little fingers on one hand.
Five wants to be 10, 10 wants to be 13, 13 desires 16. To drive whatever has gas in it. Sixteen pushes for 18, 18 to be 21 for the obvious reasons. Big freedom comes with that 21-year mark. Of course, when you finally realize you are old enough to, let’s say, buy a whole package of brownies at the local bakery, and eat every single one? Then you may realize that not only the chocolate overload headache comes with your choice, but too many brownies affects the ease of what it takes to get your pants zipped up too.
Freedom does have rewards AND consequences. But. Yes, a freedom-ringing “but.” It doesn’t take very long to learn how to get the best out of our freedom. We still buy brownies. OK me, I still buy brownies. Over trial and error, we learn to avoid dire consequences of poor choices when it comes to freedom. Sometimes I still want to gobble more than one.
That though, that is what freedom is all about. Choices we make to make living the best it can be. I admit I take my freedom for granted. It’s easy to do when we grow up within the comfort of home. I look out my windows and sometimes it’s so surreal. Dreamlike actually.
To stop and think of all the places I could have been born into. The luck of the draw and many blessings finds me smack dab in the middle of Nevada. I listen to a cool radio station on Sirius XM Radio in the mornings. The DJs take a lot of road trips throughout this grand country.
They talk of this state and that place. A big ball of twine here or a giant jack-a-lope there. We really do have it made in the shade in every state in our USA. To take freedom for granted seems a bit selfish when you compare where we could be if the men and women of our armed forces didn’t give their all to keep us in this freedom we enjoy.
How in the world can we ever thank those who gave so much for us to be able to sit under a full moon without worries of bombs going off in our neighborhoods? Or thank the families of those who didn’t make it back home. In my closet there is this one shirt I love to hold and touch. It’s an Air Force heavy green but soft material that still smells like years of memories.
It was one that my other half wore when he was in the Air National Guard so many years ago. It has his name on a patch and several other patches he obtained throughout his service. It’s an amazing piece of my peace. Over a lifetime how many times do we depend on our independence? Big things come to mind first.
Having a Fourth of July with parades, fireworks, friends, family, hot dogs, iced tea and beer. Going to a doctor. Having schools and museums and libraries. Drinking water that quenches a thirst without even thinking what it takes to get that water to your mouth. It’s all freedom.
Then there are the little things. I have always been a collector of smalls, so I notice small things more that a lot of people do.
I see the sparkle in the eyes of kids as they get all sticky with melting ice cream. I often sift through a jar of a mix of screws and nuts and little bolts, looking for just the right one. A jar that took many years to collect and now they are there just for me to pick and choose from. May not sound like much, but when you need that No. 10mm metric screw to put a doohickey back to doohickey another day? Well, that jar of goodies is a freedom I can enjoy for many years.
W.C. Fields said, “Once during prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.” How lucky we are to live where we can joke about being able to live on nothing but food and water. Depend on your independence and give thanks for it daily.
Trina Machacek lives in Eureka. Her books are available online wherever you buy books or email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com to buy signed copies.