The Fourth of July has become a thing of legend in my family. A notion that has been romanticized and storied for years. When I was little, the Fourth of July was the Christmas of summer. It was a grand coming-together of cousins near and far, cram-packed with fun activities, and ultimately ending in total exhaustion. And year after year of this created an expectation that cannot be lived up to. I'll admit that if there is even one second of down-time during the Fourth of July, I feel uncomfortable and disappointed. Dan doesn't get it.
So, in the true spirit of Fourth of July, we filled the weekend of fun. Or attempted to at least. We attended the Balloon Fest and Kiwanis Breakfast Friday morning. Papa Ace and Uncle Arnie weren't flipping the pancakes as they did when I was young, but it was fun nonetheless.
On Saturday, I dragged my kids to the parade, literally. They wanted to go, but the dragging ensued because I took them on an extremely long detour. The parade is definitely one of those things that loses its lustre in adulthood, I'm thinking. But my kids seemed to enjoy it. Thanks Tiffany for helping us out!
Later, we went swimming at Uncle Gary's and hosted a BBQ for my family. This year, we opted for the more laid back of option of watching fireworks from home rather than attending the Stadium of Fire. Inspired! It was a cool, casual evening of chatting with neighbors, snacking on munchies, and watching the fireworks to our own playlist. Much preferred to being packed into a stadium like sardines to comingle sweat and ash! And at the end of the day, Mission Exhaustion: Accomplished! My Grandma Laynie would be so proud.
The Fourth of July has become a thing of legend in my family. A notion that has been romanticized and storied for years. When I was little, the Fourth of July was the Christmas of summer. It was a grand coming-together of cousins near and far, cram-packed with fun activities, and ultimately ending in total exhaustion. And year after year of this created an expectation that cannot be lived up to. I'll admit that if there is even one second of down-time during the Fourth of July, I feel uncomfortable and disappointed. Dan doesn't get it.