Today is one of my favorite holidays. Why? I guess because it's a fuss-free time for family and friends to get together. I can remember going to see the fireworks show (I think it was in Jonesboro) every year. We'd break out the picnic blankets and coolers, claim a good spot, and run around until the show began. I remember one year we had 3D glasses. And another year, my dad began to think that the ash from the fireworks wasn't good for our eyes, so he bought us these sunglasses. These were no ordinary glasses. They were huge, and they had a little battery attached that powered the mini-lights along the top rim. So we wore light-up sunglasses to watch the fireworks in the dark that year.
Another fond memory is of going to the Twist's house in Earl, AR to have a huge buffet/picnic, parade, and a homemade fireworks display. My grandmother sent us a video the other day of 1982 that had July 4th, as well as Will's and my birthdays on it. It was pretty funny. There were these fireworks that had parachutes attached, and that is where the video starts. All of us kids (girls: ponytails on the side of the head, strawberry shortcake t-shirts; boys: knee-high white socks with colored stripes on the top, shorts with stripes down the sides) running around collecting them. THEN you see the men (in the same clothing as previously described for the boys) setting up the fireworks and running away when they were finally lit. There is the sound of my dad's voice calling out to me and Will to watch out and not get too close. Dad was always behind the camera and very seldom in front of it. My dad was pretty country. Mom liked to make fun of me when I came back from college, but as I watch our old home videos, I am discovering that the potential for a deep southern accent has run in the family for years. It's good to hear my dad's voice sometimes.
I remember the year the youth group decided to do our own thing, and we set off our own fireworks. There was one that went straight up the driveway and split the crowd. We all hit the pavement.
It's a time for potato salad, swimming pools, and bug spray...Iced tea, apple pie, sparklers, and staying up late. There's not really any stress involved. No picking whose family to spend it with; no presents to buy; no fuss over the menu. It's all simple and pleasant. It's a time to enjoy the people closest to you.
God has been, and is, so very good to us.
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hey! thanks for being a small part of my special birthday. it was so much fun. i thought of you tonight. my mom and my aunt came into town and we went to old venice. my mom told the waitress that it was my birthday and i was like "please no singing"....the girl brought me out a heaping plate of tiramisu- the new kind they have that's not so coffee flavored and with almonds on top. to die for!! i promise i was thinking of you the whole time!
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