4th of July Weekend

wooo-hoooo
I love fourth of July. Always have, well since about 4th grade. That is when I started celebrating it with my best friends family instead of my own. That sounds sad, doesn't it?

Well my family didn't really celebrate 4th of July. I don't know why but it was almost like an ordinary day. No grilling out, no yard games, no fireworks, no festivals, no parades, no carnivals. Nothing. The closest I would get to any of that was sitting in the stuffy car in the grocery store parking lot watching fireworks from 5 miles away.

At about the age of 22, when I was pregnant with Billy, I decided I would NEVER miss 4th of July fireworks again. My children would NEVER miss a fourth of July celebration. (Please note; if my children were really sick, fever and such I would not force them to go to a carnival and I would stay home and take care of them.) I have never broken that promise to myself. One year I had a terrible migraine for two days leading up to and including the fourth of July. It was awful. I went to the emergency room that day for two reasons: I was a little worried about the headache being so extreme and lasting for so long, and second I was not going to miss fourth of July! So one CT, two narcotic shots, prescription pain killers and 4 hours later I was laying on a blanket in my favorite spot listening to a live band watching a huge 30 minute firework show from just a baseball field away. It was lovely.

I imagine my children will always partake in the festivities. There are 365 days of the year. So many of those end up being average ordinary days. Days filled with to do list, responsibilities, work and school. Average and ordinary is good, in my case great. But any chance you get, make a day Extraordinary.

And that is what I fully intend to do this weekend. I will join in the fun. Get out there and LIVE IT FULLY. I will be a participant not an observer.

Just make it special.
Joytobe

PS. I always cry at fireworks. When they play "Proud to be an American" and "The Star Spangled Banner."