Arizona, one of the prettiest states in the country. Gorgeous scenery, hot weather, and perfect sunny days. Going to Arizona during the winter was a pretty normal thing for my family. My mom’s parents live down there and we tried to make it a regular thing to go down there for Christmas. Not only did we get to bond with family we hadn’t seen in a while, but It was a time for us when we could escape from our small town, which was a bonus. I think that a change in scenery is always nice, which I discovered on this unusually memorable trip.

“Come on, let’s go!” my dad yelled from my grandparents garage. “I know we’re coming!” I yelled back speaking for myself and my brother. We didn’t exactly know where we were going and although curious to ask, I remained silent as I walked down the steps off the garage to get in the car to go. It was just me, my brother, and of course, my parents. My grandparents, it occurred to me, would not be joining us considering the fact that we had already pulled out of the driveway and were on our way. It was a picture perfect day out. About seventy-five or so degrees out, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The crystal clear blue flooded the entire sky making for a perfect view of Tucson, making the car ride more enjoyable. We drove through the winding roads an eventually reached a road that was in the middle of nowhere. It felt as if were going to drive into an unknown abyss. Everywhere I looked was a barren and deserted stretch of the dull Arizona dirt. There were no houses, no people and few other cars driving on the long road. The road continued on going straight ahead. I watched the muted brown bone dry ground along with many cactus run past us. I felt the We drove for what seemed like an eternity and all the way it was completely silent, all that was in earshot was the sound of the car rolling on the solid black road.

I glanced from the backseat up to the front windshield to see if I could make out where we were. I saw that we were approaching what looked like mountains. Soon we reached these “mountains” and continued driving. The roads twisted and turned with the bend of the huge masses of land. We were getting deeper and deeper and I could feel that we were going up and incline. Before I could even try and guess our location, we were high up above the ground. I looked out my window and admired what I was seeing. The mountains were multiple shades of brown, some dull while others vibrant, while the green from the cactus flooded parts of the landmass, giving a brighter and happier feeling to the gigantic landscape. Rocks were piled high, creating a great place to climb up to see for miles.
I looked up to the front seat and my dad reached for the radio dial. He pushed it in and just as the radio came on, “Listen to the Music” by The Doobie Brothers began to play. Obviously familiar with the song, my dad turned up the dial as my mom rolled down the windows. We continued to sit in silence with only the song playing throughout the car. As the chorus came on, I felt something inside myself, something that I had never known. I felt everything slow down and my breath was calm, complete serenity and relaxation overwhelmed my body, I felt weightless. I felt the wind brushing against my face and the only thing on my mind was how beautiful this day was, my worries seemed to instantly vanish. It was the greatest feeling I had ever felt, a feeling of complete happiness and joy. My family was together and we weren’t arguing or even talking for that matter. At home, fighting is a regular occurrence but definitely not to the point where it becomes an issue, but the fighting typical of most families. It was nice to hear silence with the exception of the music blaring through out the car. Maybe that is why this memory is permanently carved in my mind. It’s one of the happiest moments I have witnessed. I cherished every moment that the song was playing. It was nice to enjoy myself while listening to the music that I know my mom, brother and especially dad like. It was great being able to connect with my family through this one song. I realized within that short time in which the music was playing that just being with my family and enjoying the truly beautiful things are what matter most in the grand scheme of things, and are also the moments that we often overlook, and take for granted.

We drove on through the mountains and followed the road. Unfortunately, the song came to an end but my incredible feeling wasn’t fading. I was still on top of the world. Soon, my parents realized that we were quite a ways away from my grandparent’s house and the sun was beginning to slowly go down upon the horizon so it was decided that it was time to head back. Even though that feeling of mine had come and gone within about 3 minutes and 26 seconds, I still get a small sense of how I felt whenever I listen to that song. I know now why my parents had just decided to go for a drive. It was because they knew it would be the prefect opportunity to have a time to be with each other and not have to worry about where we were going, or anything for that matter. It was just to be with each other and enjoy each others company, and to hopefully come to the realization that family is so truly important, something my parents can’t seem to stress enough. I have to remember to thank my parents for that one day.

That is truly one of the best memoires I have. It shows how powerful a change of scenery, a song, and it’s lyrics can be, and the amazing emotions that flood your body as you enjoy the simplicity of them. Every time that I am in need of something to cheer myself up, I listen to that song and place myself back in time, to where I’m sitting in the car with my family. “Listen to the Music” is my most played “feel good” song. I will never forget that moment and every time I hear that song it will remind me of how incredible and grateful I felt just to be with my family as we went wherever the road took us on that crystal clear sunny day.