By: Stephanie Reynolds
It’s 4:29 on Tuesday morning. A “woke-up-and-can’t-get-back-to-sleep” check of my work emails shows me an oops—I misread an email back in December and my article is due. Was due. I am late.
I pull the covers over my shoulder and think of my plans for the day. I was already behind even before the email. I planned to walk up and back on the Richard Martin Trail to train for an ultramarathon in March. I should have gotten my kit together yesterday instead of watching videos about getting your kit together for ultramarathons, but I still have time this morning.
I think about what to write for this way-past-due article. I wish I had one more day, then I could virtually “take you with me” on my trail hike. I could “chat” with you about how the trail is brighter in the winter when the leaves have fallen. We could look over the rails, over the various cricks, and see if ice is starting to form on the edges. We could even look for frost flowers, though I think we missed those this year.
We could talk about our plans for the new year — 2026 is still the “Year(s) of the Alabama Trails.” And you and I could compare our still-mostly-open calendars and fill them with trail dates: “Ooo! I know! In January, we can plan a couple of laps on the Swan Creek trail and end up back at the Sportsplex and work off a few pounds. OR we can start at the south end of the trail and be much closer to K-May donuts. It’s a win either way!”
Maybe we flip our calendars to February. You might glance at my calendar and notice an upcoming event “What’s that…REALLY? That sounds fun!” you might say with intense interest as I hurry to cover the date. “Ohhh…it’s nothing. I mean, it is going to be a total blast, but we haven’t announced it yet. Just pretend you didn’t see it.” I say, but you will not be swayed. “Huh. OK. But I want first dibs on tickets,” which I promise you as a bribe thank you for your discretion and hurriedly turn the page to March, then April where I remind you about our Historic Walking Tours. I hint to you that we could always use guides, just to see if you are interested. I imagine you saying, “I might be. Talk to me in March,” and I take that as a possible yes.
“Are you going to lead trail walks in May like last year?” you ask me and I eagerly nod. Honestly, leading trail walks is one of my favorite parts of my job. “We’ll have some short ones and some longer ones. I also want to have a few through the summer and into fall. Last year was so busy that we didn’t organize a trail walk on the Swan Creek or on Marbut Bend or at Rural Village. I’m hoping to get many more in this year,” I say. But even now, as December bows out to the new year, I realize how fast the year passes and how, if I am going to lead trail walks in September, I need to have them on the books in January. This year, we don’t have the Rural Tourism Conference, but we do still have the Red, White, and BOOM, which we plan to make even bigger than last year for the 250th anniversary of our incredible nation, with more fireworks and more bands.
We talk Tinsel Trail, about how beautiful it was this year and how early you need to reserve a tree for next year. We talk Christmas parades and the Open House and suddenly, with a weird sense of déjà vu, we are back to today’s date, though a year from now.
What a year we might have had! Perhaps you and I will meet on the trail (either in person or in next year’s edition of this column) and reminisce about this same time last year when I was late with my article and we compared calendars and made wonderful plans to explore more of Athens-Limestone County. You may tease me and ask if I am late again, and I will (hopefully!) laugh and say, “No, of course not! I understood the email this time.” And we will say the same things people always say about the year — “It went so quickly…I blinked and it was June…How can it possibly be a year later! Let’s get out our calendars and put trail walks and festivals and every fun thing there is to do this next year because last year flew by so fast that we didn’t get to embrace it like we wanted.”
Maybe we’ll make our first entry on our calendar for the very end of the year, “You joining me on the Richard Martin Trail to ring in 2027?” We can pack our kits the day before, not need to be up at 4:30 in the morning to finish some work, and can enjoy the Lord’s nature in winter together.
I’ll put it on my calendar now.
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
