Celebrating Independence Day

This summer has been very different for me.  Before I've even come to grips with summer, the 4th of July is upon me, and I'm not really ready for summer to be 1/2 over (although the temperatures could sure stand to drop a little).

Usually I feel like I take at least a little time to appreciate all the time, the effort, the sacrifice, the work that went into the founding of the United States of America.  Those men and by extension their wives and children, "Mutually pledge[d] to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor."  They didn't really know what that would mean at that time.  They didn't really understand that 250 years later what they did would impact my life.  They couldn't possibly have grasped the price that they would have to pay.  But they also couldn't possibly have anticipated the benefit, the blessing, the gift that they would give to so many who would come after them.

Today I really didn't take time to think about all that until now.  I slept in.  I made potato salad.  I went to a barbecue.  I watched my husband lose to his brother at horse.  I watched my nephews light of who knows how much $ in fireworks.  And now, at 11:47pm, I finally take a moment to consider the cost and appreciate the sacrifice.

But that, in itself, is a gift.  The fact that I can go through an entire day without thinking about defending my freedoms.  I slept in because there are and have been soldiers around the world defending my freedoms.  I made potato salad because our economic system provides potatoes, eggs, Miracle Whip, and all the other things I needed to be at the grocery store just down the street.  I went to a barbecue because my friends and family had the day off to celebrate our nation's birth with me.  I watched my husband lose to his brother at horse because he had an "off night."  (Sorry honey.)  My nephews could light off fireworks because the government can't regulate everything we do - at least for now.

I'm thankful that I don't have to think about, worry about, fret about my freedoms each day or each moment.  This Independence Day, I'm thankful that I can be absorbed with "normal life," and that's ok.  And just to share a little of the joy with you, here are some pictures from tonight.
Lily with my friend Sarah in excited anticipation of the fireworks starting.

Lil and I seconds before the fireworks started...

Lil and I as the fireworks began... clearly she is more attentive to them than I am.  :)

Happy Independence Day.  Here's to living normal life and to all those who have made that possible.