Fireworks, Fireflies and Family

July 4, 2022

Under the hot July sun, we lounge by the pool, lake or backyard, taking in the long days and steamy nights of summer. We visit family and friends, we go to parties and throw parties. We drink ice cold beverages, eat hot dogs and hamburgers. For dessert it’s popsicles and hand-cranked peach ice cream that takes all night to freeze and requires everyone’s effort and a turn at the crank. Children, cousins and friends, run their wild circles, catching fireflies, while the adults catch up and tell stories of the past year. We wait for the fireworks with innocent anticipation. All the past Independence Days run together like an antique quilt, aged and frayed, yellowed by the sun, worn by love and memories stitched together over and over again. Put the dogs up, find the headphones for the young children, stay up too late and make wishes upon the evening sky. The Fourth of July is a day to be together, with family and friends, a day to be grateful for our American home.