Independence Day

With Covid-19 restrictions still in place, our Independence Day celebrations were much quieter than normal. For the past seven years, I have spent from 11pm to 3am at Nelson and Hilary Davis' business on Center Street reserving our parade spot. Being there insures we'll get a great spot to watch the parade, and since the kids have been little, I've felt it was worth the sacrifice of sleep to do it. It's been fun to sit out with friends, too, talking and being together kid free. No parade this year meant no mid-night disruption. As a result, I rode with Maureen Ogles and her sister Susan up to Vivian Park, then made red, white, and blue pancakes for breakfast. The ride was glorious! Couldn't have started the day off better. And the pancakes were delicious.

 

Blythe's pancakes on the left, mine on the right.

The 4th of July always means a parade, and since there was no city parade, Kimberly Roy organized a neighborhood parade down Normandy. Those who wanted to be in the parade met at the church at 9:45, and those who wanted to watch, found themselves a place along Normandy. Then, at 10:00, a police car led the way into the culdesac and back out again. I encouraged Mikayla to come over and be with us in the parade. We visited with neighbors as we waited to get going, and then waved to other neighbors as we walked by. Normandy residents threw candy, and we enjoyed a down and back, low-key, friendly parade. Brandt carried our flag, I pushed Thea and walked with Kal while Mikayla pushed Freya and walked with Brick. Blythe walked too. Guy, Cora, and Kent watched from the sides. Kimberly provided popsicles at the end. It was perfect. We may need to do it that way again next year.

Brick and Thea not looking in the picture above.

Kal and Freya not looking in the picture below.

We came home from parading and made ice cream. Last week, as we were talking about what to eat on the Fourth of July, Brandt said, "We're going to have homemade ice cream, aren't we?" Yes. Yes we are. Mikayla said, "We're going to have guacamole, aren't we?" Yes. Yes we are. Kent said, "We're going to have potato salad, aren't we?" Yes. Yes we are. Everyone was happy. So we prepared food, then went over to my mom's house for swimming and barbecue. Tom and Darlene came, along with Sarah and her kids, and Katelyn and Alina. We see them once a year, and I'm always so delighted to be able to visit and catch up. It was nice to be in the pool, to eat good food, and to be with family.

Christopher took a couple of big spending friends to the firework stand of someone he knows. He said, "If I bring a couple of guys who will spend between five and seven thousand dollars each, will you fill the back of my truck with fireworks for free?" The guy agreed, so Christopher put on a show. It certainly wasn't to the level of outrageousness he's had in the past, but it was great anyway. We sat out in the yard and watched as bit of firework rained down on us, then leapt in the car and dashed across town before the city fireworks started. Well, as the city fireworks started. We sort of watched from the roof, except I was the only one there. The kids were tired and gave up before the middle. 

While the Fourth is always an exhausting holiday, I felt this year wasn't as bad. I got more sleep so wasn't grouchy all day. It was a bit more low-key without the parade, and I didn't feel a lot of pressure to be doing lots and lots of stuff. But it is always good to pause and reflect on the freedoms we enjoy. There has been much civil unrest and protesting throughout the country about continued mistreatment of Blacks and other minorities in the US, but conditions here, though imperfect, are certainly better for most people than many other places. I am grateful to be a citizen of this county, and to celebrate the work of the Founding Fathers. 

As a side note, somewhat unrelated to the holiday, as a manager at the Census, I got a paid day off yesterday, plus two hours on Thursday afternoon. How terrific is that?!