I love the 4th of July holiday. It's a pretty close run with Christmas for me...for obviously different reasons...Christmas celebrating the birth of an amazing Christ and the 4th of July celebrating the birth of an amazing country.
We also live in a town where it's difficult NOT to be excited about the 4th. Our town has one of the oldest celebrations in Minnesota. It's a four-day extravaganza of everything red, white and blue! There's the carnival, food, baseball/softball tournaments, live bands, food, queen coronation, food, huge parade, fireworks...just to name a few. It's a great time and in my 43 years, I've missed it once and I swore I would never miss it again! I love it!
My best friend from high school and her family will be arriving at our house this afternoon to stay with us through Sunday. Scott's parents are coming this afternoon, too, for no-particular-reason surprises for Parker and Faith (Parker will probably get a new game for his Nintendo DS and Faith is getting a well-needed new bike). We get to watch our neighbor's four-month old little boy this afternoon while they take their six and almost three year old to the carnival. We will go with our friends to the carnival tonight. We will arise early tomorrow to get to our annual spot on the parade route and tomorrow night we will spend with dear friends from out of town and hopefully the neighborhood, too. If we don't conduct our own fireworks display like we did last year, we will watch them at the carnival area.
I know that our country has a lot going on right now...and I have been one to have my share of complaints. But when it comes right down to the nitty-gritty of it all...we live in a great country. We are free to worship, we are free to have our own beliefs, we are free to disagree, we are free to learn, we are free to vote, we are free to voice our opinion...and we have a lot of people fighting to keep it that way.
So, this weekend, when we are all out celebrating however it is we choose to celebrate, don't forget the people that are out there right now making it possible for us to do so. The military men and women who are giving their lives...away from their families...so that we can live our lives and be with our families. When I watch my 83-year old dad sitting on an old WWII jeep in his WWII uniform, riding through the parade tomorrow, it will bring tears to my eyes to know that he, too, fought for our freedoms. If you see an older gentleman showing pride that he, too, served in our military...I bet he'd like a thank you, too.
Have a fabulous and safe 4th of July weekend!
Peace...and God Blesses the United States of America!
No comments:
Post a Comment