Happy 4th

My kids and I have a little running joke.  We have those "what else is going to happen!" days.  When we have bad days, it seems it lasts ALL day...it keeps going and going... Unfortunately, the 4th of July was looking as if it was turning out to be one of those days. 

It started off OK.  I got up and made coffee...which always makes for a proper start of the day.  I heard my husband grumble because the ice cubes were watery.  Oh, one of the kids left the freezer door open, darn it.

We were excited because our neighborhood has a little bike parade for the kids.  Everybody meets up at the end of our Circle with their bikes, wagons, strollers...anything with wheels...all decked out in Ole' Glory colors to show their American pride.  Then they all ride to the end of the street, about 1/4 mile, to the park where we serve cookies and lemonade.  It's cute.  Perfect opportunity to fire up the ol' John Philip Sousa marching tunes billowing from my bay window as people walked up to line up at the end of the street.  (And people liked it I might add.)  (Thanks Daddy, for making me love John Philip Sousa.)  (And yes, it is a station on my list for Pandora.com.)

So we spent some time getting ready.

And as you can see, my kids take this very seriously. 

The morning was overcast.  Not many people out.  Maybe they're all at church (like we should be.)  And there's a politician who made a booth at the park.  That's certainly a first.  And my dog jumped up on his wife. (snicker snicker)

Well, it was time to start the food.  I came home, happily excusing myself from my very talkative new friend at the park, and went to take out the hamburger.  The very warm and leaky, bloody hamburger.  My fridge was not just left open.  It was fried...and had been.  The light was on, the motor running, so nobody noticed that it wasn't working.  All my food was thawed, warm, and decomposing.  Dripping meat leaked out over the condiments, even my homemade peach jam.  There was very little salvageable.  We lost almost all our food.

And lunch was going to come out of a can, I guess.

We were OK.  We're strong.  We're still going to have a great day.  Don't let the kids see you sweat!  I pulled together lunch with some canned beans, creamed corn, and scraped together borrowed burgers and hoped that Ketchup doesn't have to be refridgerated because I can't have a burger without Ketchup.

We did it!

Yeah!

And then I went and looked at my flowers...

...because Petunias always make me happy.  Especially these.

And then it rained.

And rained.

And rained.

And then the sky turned grayer, and it rained, and then the wind blew, and it rained, and all our decorations blew down...

...and it rained.

I decided I better see if the city would cancel the fireworks show tonight.  The news said click the website, the website said call the number, and the number was busy.  For hours.  The show was scheduled to start at 9:15, so at 8:15 I called again for about the 50th time, still busy. 

"So are we going?" Andrew came to ask me as I sat on my chair on the front porch sadly.  I was so excited to take my kids to the live fireworks show.  They've never been at the actual place where they shoot them off.

"Honey, I don't think they will have it in this weather."  My daughter started crying.  Then I started crying because I couldn't stand seeing her so disappointed.

"Well," my husband suggested, "we can drive over there and just see."  We started gathering our sweatshirts and blankets and getting ready, just in case.

But then my husband says, "I think I hear mortars...yeah...I think they're firing them off."

We went up to the upstairs window, and sure enough, the city was firing off the fireworks 45 minutes early!  Without us!  How was anyone supposed to know that they were going to be early!  We couldn't get through to the information sources!  Ooooo I was so upset.  So, yes, I cried.  And everyone was sad.

But this couldn't be the end of our holiday.  No.  We all jumped in the car and headed down to the park we were at this morning, where we could glimps the fireworks between two houses obtructing a full view.  Dave and I sat in the car while the kids stood out in the pouring rain...and we watched the beautiful fireworks together.

And when it was done, we all had smiles on our faces, and satisfied celebratory appetites.  And it was OK.

So we headed to the store, bought stuff for root beer floats, and came home and played games.  Apples to Apples, Junior.  Very cool.

So as I write this,  the neighborhood boys are all out on the street lighting off fireworks that they couldn't light off last night.  Its the one day of the year where their boyhood yearnings are fulfilled and they are allowed to play with fire.

And I contemplate, when life gives you lemons, make root beer floats...or something like that.