A happy 4th of July

On Saturday, June 30th, I made a list of a bunch of errands I had to run. (I have to make those lists when there is just too much to do, otherwise I’ll forget things!). As it so often happens, however, I could only get so much done at a time each day. It’s times like this hubby reminds me that it’s just not possible to complete a long to-do list in one day. And while I accept that, it’s frustrating when I can’t get all the stuff done in one day. Even more frustrating when a holiday pops up during the week and I’m still in “to-do” list mode.

That’s the way it was for me yesterday, on the 4th of July. I kept thinking “I need to do this, I need to mail that, I need to pay that.” Then I’d remember that yesterday was a holiday. I had to remind myself, “I can’t do that thing on my list! There’s no mail today, that place is closed, there isn’t anyone online, etc.”

Yes, yesterday was the 4th, and we had a nice Fourth of July, too. We spent the day together as a family, though I wasn’t exactly in chipper spirits because of my cold and my hip bothering me. But it was still a good day. The kids rode their bikes, we hung out and talked, watched favorite TV shows. I made burgers for dinner and Jesse had his first s’more for dessert. (He liked it.)

When it was time for the fireworks, we were able to get together with our neighbors and we all set off our fireworks together. It was nice to hang out with them. Our kids get along well with their kids and everybody was just in a good mood. We were also entertained by some of the BIGGER fireworks other neighbors were setting off last night. It was quite a light show.

As so often happens on these kinds of days, I thought of family and friends a lot. The people who are living far away from us and who we haven't seen for years. I miss them all the time, but I especially missed them yesterday. It would have been nice to share that day with them and I smiled at some of the memories of past Fourth of Julys with friends and family. I also took time to remember friends and family we have lost this year. They were not with us in person but they were definitely in my thoughts and in my heart. When I was looking up at the sky to see fireworks go off, I smiled at the thought that maybe they were up there enjoying those fireworks, too.