You Kind of Had to Be There!
There are memories we carry like charms.
They don’t shine on Instagram.
They don’t get applause.
But years later, they still warm us. These moments live in the spaces between words, imperfect, unrehearsed, alive. And when we try to explain them, we trail off mid-story, shrug, and say:
“You kind of had to be there.”
A Night That Didn’t Look Like Much
It was just a summer night on a quiet beach in Prince Edward Island.
Three friends, a blanket, a flashlight jammed into a crooked sandcastle. The tide rolled in slowly and steadily, like a giant breathing. Waves kept the beat as they talked about nothing, high school memories, awkward exes, and inside jokes.
The stars above were bright enough to paint shadows in the sand. The air was warm. Soft. Wrapped around them like a secret. Then someone hummed an old 2000s tune, and the others joined in off-key, half-remembered, totally present.
No one pulled out a phone.
No one tried to capture it.
When they finally walked back to the car with sandy feet and silly grins, they knew what had happened.
They just couldn’t put it into words.
These Moments Glow Because They Weren’t Made for Anyone Else
“You had to be there” stories feel empty on the outside and full on the inside.
A jazz tune drifts through a streetlamp glow in San Francisco.
A spontaneous sing-along in a Montreal apartment that left everyone hoarse.
A thunderstorm that rolled in mid-picnic on a highway shoulder, where you stayed anyway, laughing in the rain with cold hands and warmer hearts.
These aren’t stories for others. They’re souvenirs for the soul!
As Dr. Seuss once said:
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” [1]
Unremarkable from the outside. unforgettable to the ones who lived it. The best kind of memory, quiet, shared, real.
Why You Can’t Recreate It
You could book the same Airbnb. Buy the same snacks. Revisit the playlist. But it won’t land the same.
These moments happen when no one’s trying. When attention drifts from the future to right now. You can’t manufacture magic.
But you can recognize it.
How to Invite “You Had to Be There” Moments
You can’t force them. But you can leave space for them to arrive:
Leave your phone in another room. Let the moment breathe.
Be somewhere unfamiliar with someone familiar. The contrast invites depth.
Let the plans stay loose. Wandering makes room for wonder.
Linger in the pause. Silence is often where connection lives.
Say yes, even when you’re tired. Especially then.
Make time for low-stakes hangouts. Backyard fire pits, walks, and long drives.
Try a 12-hour digital detox. Log off, meet up, be all there.
These habits create openness, and openness invites the good stuff.
Not Big Stories Just Big Feelings
We mark life by birthdays, travels, and milestones. But the softest pivots happen off-calendar. The quiet car ride where someone opened up for the first time. The Brooklyn rooftop where no one spoke for five minutes, and somehow that said everything. The night on the porch when the power went out, and your dad started telling childhood stories, lit only by candlelight.
These aren’t milestones.
But they mark us all the same.
Keep the Memory, Not the Footage
Try telling these stories later, and they’ll fall flat. You’ll say,
“It’s hard to explain .... I guess you had to be there.”
That’s okay.
Some things aren’t meant to be understood by everyone. Only remembered by the few who lived them.
You don’t need an audience. You just need someone who was there and still is.
You Kind of Have to Be Here
Presence is a gift. So often unopened. When it is, it becomes a room full of laughter that no one remembers starting.
A night that slips past midnight unnoticed.
A connection that needs no explanation.
So when the moment’s good, even if it seems small, quiet, and unimpressive
Be there!
And years later, when someone asks what made it so special, you’ll smile and say:
“You kind of had to be there.”
Sources
1. Dr. Seuss – “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”