Happy 4th of July!!! Although I’m writing this early because I’m going to be out of town, I’m very much in the 4th mood. There’s a VA cemetary in the small town I live in and on many holidays, large American flags as set out in the public areas to the tune of hundreds of flags. A drive through the cemetary (where a dear friend’s 22 year old son is buried) is a moving experience
Holidays tend to put me in touch with the past, but there’s something about the 4th that truly reaches me. I think its because when I was growing up, the town I lived in went all out in celebration. I remember, in high school, marching with the band. I’d chosen the clarinet because I had a long walk after the bus let me off. One year it was so hot I didn’t think I was going to make it to the end of the parade and am sure it was even worse for the tuba players. When I was younger, the 4th meant seeing my cousins and running around Nana’s lawn with sparklers stinging our wrists. We loved setting them off after dark and playing like Tinkerbell.
As an adult, it concerns me that maybe I didn’t instill that reverence for our day of freedom in my sons, but I know they’re appreciative of this country we live in. These days it seems as if depressing news is all around us: gas and other price increases, the dog days of the political campaign, horrific fires in the state just south of me, etc, etc. But when all the complaining is done with, IMO this is still the only country I’d ever want to live in. Freedom is more than a word or even a mindset. It lives in our hearts, or at least I believe it should.
I could go on and on and probably get myself in trouble stepping on peoples’ toes. Instead, I’d like to flip things around and ask readers what the 4th of July means to them.
Vonna
July 4th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I like to spend time with my family, enjoy ourselves and remember.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Well if you were to ask my son he would say because we won. True story when my oldest (now 15) was 4 the minister at our church asked what the 4th of July meant and my son told him. The minister never learned that he should not ask questions like that to kids, especially if my son was in the group.
To me: it’s a day for family. We don’t do much, will light a few fireworks after dark and I’ll make something for dinner (was going to grill but now it’s suppose to rain and be miserable about dinner time). My younger kids have asked about the 4th and why we celebrate. I’m always surprised at how much they already know and what they remember from before.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:04 am
What a wonderful post, Vonna. Like you I can’t imagine living anywhere else, even in these times of struggle and strife.
Like Laura (Hi Laura! :mrgreen:), the 4th to me is about family. We so rarely have time to get together and just relax and share in memories and make those for the future. It’s a day for blessing both the good and the bad and cherishing each and every moment. And, if I am lucky, a great day to sneak in a nap.
Happy Independence Day to all!
~ jodi
July 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
For me, today is the perfect day to celebrate our gift of freedom and remind ourselves not to take it for granted.
Happy 4th of July, everyone!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
A great post Vonna. I think one of the main problems we have today is the amount of doom and gloom people allow themselves to believe in. If I think back to when I was a kid, people were feeling “doom and gloom” then as well.
History reminds us that at any point in time it is always doom and gloom to those people living it. But if a person can reflect on how lucky they are to live in our country and have the freedoms we have, then we can often feel a lot better about our place in the world. The U.S. isn’t perfect, but neither is any other country on earth. We all have our good and bad parts. July 4th. always reminds me what a great time it is to be a woman living in the U.S., a place which gives me so many opportunities to be all I can be (sounds like an Army commercial, no?) Have super holiday!!
Denise A. Agnew
http://www.deniseagnew.com
July 4th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
It is a day for family and fun. We are free to celebrate this day because some cared enough to bring about The Declaration of Independence.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Vonna, I wasn’t on the computer for long yesterday so I did miss this post. I missed it because I was with my family and I think thats part of what this holiday meant for me, was having the 4 of us all together for at least a few house of the day! So thats one thing that I find for this holiday is bringing the family together, no matter how small it is. I too think about my grandfather who was in the war many years ago and those who now that fight our freedom, so I think that we not just celebrate our freedom but too thank those many who helped and helps us get it.