Creeky & Scorchin'.
Hyde County is special to me for many reasons.
Hyde is home.
My infatuation with nature began in Germany and the love intensified in Hyde. Mom told me she planned to raise me by herself in the Military, but my grandparents asked to raise me in Engelhard instead. I think God placing me in Hyde Co as a youngin’ was a part of His plan for my interest in nature to continue to grow. I left Germany with a desire to see nature everywhere. When I arrived at my grandparents’ home, I was so excited to be surrounded by so much greenery. I thought to myself “this might not be that bad”. Lol. When people ask me where I’m from, I say “Hyde County” and usually have to follow up with “you heard of Ocracoke or the Outer Banks? I'm near there, I’m from the coast”.
Hyde is calming.
Grandma and I spent a lot of time together outside (we still do when I visit her now). We both love admiring clouds. Grandma and I would get lost admiring the beautiful fluffy clouds in the sky. Every time I’d see an airplane flying across the clouds, I use to wish my mom would descend and join us. I would then get sad because I knew that was just my imagination wishing impossibilities. Grandma always reminded me mom was overseas working to make sure I had everything I needed, so I didn’t show my sadness about mom not being there with us. Instead, I would just imagine me, mom, and grandma floating around together on clouds. I miss doing that, it always helped me feel calm.
Hyde is beautiful.
HeadStart was less than a mile from my grandparents’ home, so my bus ride to school was like 5 minutes; I didn’t see any scenery. But when I started Kindergarten, my bus ride was over 60 minutes. I saw so many fields, animals, and trees, and I was able to see different parts of Lake Mattamuskeet. The lake and I formed a special relationship over the years. I began crabbing with my family when I was a teenager. This was when I realized just how big Lake Mattamuskeet is. The lake covers a lot of Hyde Co; it’s amazing. If I can’t see the lake from any given place in Hyde, I’m sure I’m in close proximity to it. Now, I crab at the lake in Fairfield, but when I was younger, my go to spot for crabbing was in New Holland (Fairfield and New Holland are towns in Hyde; Lake Mattamuskeet runs through them).
Hyde Co is my break from reality.
When I think of my childhood, I remember myself in Germany with my parents, and then in Engelhard with my grandparents. And I don’t have any memory of this, but as a youngster, I also spent a lot of time in Valdosta with my dad’s mom, too. Hyde Co is so quiet, so calm, and so slowwwww. For those reasons, I’m grateful to have been raised in a place like Hyde instead of a large city with a large population. Hyde is small, and everyone is familiar with each other.
When mom retired from the Military, she settled in a large city. I looked forward to spending summers with her. As much as I was missing home, I used to dread driving back to Hyde; the drive down 264 is drain-ninggggggg. Once I got to college, I knew I had to get out of that “ugh I don’t wanna take this drive” attitude. Driving to Hyde used to feel like I was driving back to detention after a weekend at Six Flags or something. But once I entered that Hyde atmosphere, I would always feel relieved. I would feel like Hyde was hugging me and saying, “welcome back, come get some rest”.
I began looking forward to entering the Hyde atmosphere. I began looking forward to and appreciating the slowness, quietness, and peacefulness associated with being home. I began using my time in Hyde as a way to rest, reflect, and reset. There’s a lot of bad things I can say about Hyde County, but I’d much rather focus on the good. The good being my family and all the beautiful scenery hidden in plain sight throughout Hyde Co.
So, when I snapped these sunset pictures at Lake Mattmuskeet (in Fairfield), I was reminded that no matter where I travel, live, or visit, there’s no place like Hyde. There’s no place that will give me feelings of peace, appreciation, love, gratitude, patience, and rest quite like Hyde Co will.
Life Lesson:
· There’s no place like Hyde.
How I Apply it to My Life:
· When I go home, I ride around Hyde Co & admire the scenery.
Song:
· Sandy Cheeks – Texas Song
SLIDESHOW: Pictures taken in Hyde Co.