I Don’t Want To Go

Emily zipped up her suitcase, sighed loudly, and then lugged it out to the SUV.

“Why do I have to go?” she asked.

“This is a family vacation,” replied her dad.

Sure it was, she thought.The idea of spending three entire days and nights sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness that was named after some long ago explorer did not appeal to her girly side. “Mom, can we stay…?”

Before she could finish, Emily’s younger brother came bolting through the door, his suitcase overflowing, and his momentum almost knocking her to the ground. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Emily climbed into the backseat, her MP3 player blasting loudly, at least she had some piece of civilization left. As they drove for what seemed like forever, Emily enjoyed peering out the window. As they got farther and farther away from the city, she began to catch glimpses of rabbits, squirrels, and various birds that she wasn’t used to seeing.

The tall buildings and annoying noises of the city began to be replaced by a peaceful quiet. She turned her music off, but kept the ear buds in place, as she didn’t want anyone to know that she was enjoying the ride.

Finally, she saw the sign: Welcome to the Daniel Boone National Forest.

“Can we hike to the falls?” her brother asked.

She exited the vehicle and declared that she was ready for a walk. She had heard about Cumberland Falls but had never actually seen it. Some of her classmates had mentioned that it was smaller, but a lot like Niagara Falls. She had no desire to let the others know she was excited, but she hoped her dad would say that they could go exploring.

Looking around her, she saw huge mountains that seemed to tower above the river below. This was much different from the small subdivision that she called home. Just maybe the next three days wouldn’t be so bad. As she removed her earbuds, she smiled, as a small deer crossed the pathway several hundred feet in the distance.

At the age of twelve that was the first live deer that she had ever seen. Wow, this is really amazing. “Let’s take that walk, Dad.”

“Really?” he asked.

What lesson did the girl learn during this story?