Who remembers sitting in their classroom at school, staring at the clock on the wall, as the seconds slowly ticked away? It seemed like the day would never end. The last day of the school year seemed so far away. And graduation? That was a far-off dream that couldn’t get here quick enough.
Fast-forward 10, 20, 30 years and not only do the days, weeks and months fly by, but the years seem to disappear in a blur.
Looking back on 2025, it can be hard to recall everything that was accomplished or that happened. Thank goodness for newspaper clippings, social media posts and the thousands of pictures on our phones to help us remember.
For me, I was thrilled to see the McCook Aquatic Center open for its first full season. Children could spend their day at the pool. Families could enjoy time together. There was even water walking in the evening in the lazy river - with or against the current depending on your mood.
That being said, I would like to see the pool stay open a bit later, up until school starts or even a few weeks into the school year. But that will only happen if we have adult lifeguards once the young people start fall sports so perhaps getting a lifeguard certification could be a goal for people in 2026.
We saw the beginning of the transformation at the YMCA in McCook in 2025, with the pool shutting down the day after the high school swimmers left for the state championship meet in late February. While McCook remains without an indoor pool at the start of 2026, hopes are high to have the pool up and running before this year’s swim season comes to an end.
And as the renovation and expansion of the YMCA continues, it may get worse before it gets better but by the end of 2026, the finish line for a new and improved YMCA will be in sight.
Perhaps one of the most gleeful accomplishments in 2025 was the completion of the inclusive playground at Kelley Park. Started several years ago by a group of young, determined mothers, their dream was accomplished in late 2025 with all phases of the project completed. Which is a good reminder for all of us not to get in the way of a mom when she is committed to an idea.
A second disc golf course was completed at Barnett Park, Community Hospital’s Roots student housing complex downtown is finished and the new sports complex on the west side of McCook is nearing completion.
McCook is on the move, mostly in the right direction.
Not all was great in 2025. The school bond issue failed to pass, even as the junior high continues to deteriorate. The cost of living continues to rise, putting stress on people to pay their bills.
And the homeless population has come front and center. If you think this is a new problem, it isn’t. McCook has had a homeless camp for years but was “evicted,” sending them into the line of sight and it is something our community needs to address in 2026.
There is a lot to look forward to in 2026. Maybe we will get more walking trails, which haven’t increased in more than a decade. Maybe we will get lights at the pool, to expand the hours of availability. Maybe we’ll have so many people volunteering, joining clubs and even running for office that we’ll be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm.
That would be a great problem to have in 2026.
And if you are wondering why the years seem to creep by when you are younger but speed by as we age, it is because we have fewer “markers” along the way to help divide time. While there may be a party every year when you are younger, we are lucky if the “decade” birthdays get a balloon and some streamers once we pass 21.
The momentous occasions also became less frequent. The graduations, the weddings, the births, the new jobs are fewer and far between. Only the funerals seem to come at a quicker pace as we age.
So if one of your goals for 2026 is to try and simply remember more about what happened over the past year, make those memories. Maybe it is getting involved in the community by attending a Third Thursday event downtown or joining the bowling league. Maybe it is hosting a regular game night for your friends or starting a book club. Maybe it is vowing to do one pull-up by the end of the year or finally learn a foreign language…and then travel to another country to use it.
Or perhaps you get your lifeguard certificate and get to hang out with little people, which just may help slow down your year…or at least make it memorable.
