There's just something about July 4th that I love. I think that it being a patriotic holiday and there are fireworks and picnics and all are a good part of its allure, but for me it's something more. The 4th of July represents summer for me. I don't like the saying that after the 4th, summer is over! It's NOT! there are actually more weeks of summer between 4th of July and when school starts than there are between getting out of school in June and the 4th of July.
I love how towns have little festivals and celebrations. When I think July 4th, I think small town America with old houses, their porches festooned with bunting and a flag rippling in the breeze, and pots of red geranuims dotting porch stairs. I think of town sqaures boasting white gazebos where barbershop quartets or bands play patriotic marches while old-timers nod their heads in time with the music and children chase each other through the crowd. I picture town parades, where the town's best is showcased through shining red fire trucks, kids with red, white, and blue streamers woven in and out of their bicycle tires being part of the parade, dogs sporting patrtiotic bandanas ambling along with children who are being pulled in decorated wagons; the parade concluding in a park where the smell of hotdogs and popcorn waft through the air.
Some of my favorite memories involve the 4th of July. The first one was in high school when I spent 2 weeks in Door County, Wisconsin staying with a friend's family. We went to the fireworks and little festival and as we drove back to her cottage we noticed that Mother Nature was putting on her own show in the form of the Northern Lights. Amy and I went down to the water (Green Bay), got in her rowboat and started rowing out onto the water. It was absolutely beautiful to watch as the lights danced and glowed above us in the night sky! That was the only time so far I have ever had the privilege of seeing anything like that!
Another favorite July 4th memory was when we were on a family trip to Disneyworld and were chosen to be one of the families to open the Magic Kingdom!!! That was special! Then Molly was chosen to be Chef of the Day at the Crystal Palace for the Pooh breakfast getting to help cook breakfast with all the characters and being the first in the whole place to eat ! This made for great pictures and equally great memories! What a fun way to spend the 4th!!
This 4th of July is being spent at a friend's house; the kids swimming, the adults chatting- the perfect kind of gathering. I am anticipating some good fireworks tonight- I have always loved fireworks displays- the bigger and longer lasting the better! Sparkle! Sparkle!! Sparkle!!!
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