Fourth Activities

In spite of the mess here at home, I tried to make the Fourth a little special for the grandchildren.  God bless Grandma Judy!  She took the children to the movies, then kept them at her house for much of the afternoon, so that when they came home, we had our "Happy Birthday, America" supper, then walked to Hummel Park (with the Heffelman grandparents) for the activities going on there...and, of course, fireworks.  Grandma Judy had found a couple of pop-up bug houses for the children, and we provided glow-sticks in order to keep track of the little guys.  It was a long and busy day.

For a relatively small town, Plainfield does an excellent job with the holiday preparations.  At Hummel Park, there was a climbing wall, some inflated bouncy things, free popsicles at the library booth, fire trucks on display, duck races (with those little yellow rubber duckies)...and food tents.  The Hendricks Symphonic Choir and Orchestra played/sang wonderful recognizable and patriotic music, from the tributes to the armed services to The 1812 Overture, The William Tell Overture, and--of course--Stars and Stripes Forever.  It is the music that makes or breaks the day for me.  Then there were the fireworks--at least 30 minute's worth.  Great show!  The only glitches in the evening were a couple of melt-downs from Ryan, and Robin's having to go potty just before the fireworks finale.  (The restrooms are way too far apart at the park!)  Then the long walk uphill back home from the park with two very tired children.  We plopped Ryan in the tub then into bed.  Robin conked out the instant she was tucked in.  Megan and I followed immediately thereafter.  We were tired!

Yesterday's Independence Day celebration was as good or better than any I could remember as a kid.  We were almost always at my grandparents' farm, chasing lightning bugs (which my grandchildren do)...and eating corn on the cob (which we did yesterday).  There were always other good culinary treats--like a creamed new potatoes and peas dish that my mother fixed with garden produce, and watermelon.  When it came time for fireworks, my father would drive out to some country road in between a couple of towns that did fireworks displays, while we sat on the hood of the car being eaten alive by mosquitoes to see fireworks way off in the distance.  I was an adult before I ever got to see fireworks up close and personal.  No comparison! 

There is a superstition among teachers that summer vacation is over by the Fourth.  The time flies by so fast that there is a mad dash to get things done...and then it is over for another year.  Depressing, really.  We have been so busy here at home that I haven't had the time or the order to rest up from the school year...but there is no other choice.  If we are going to go into another winter together--which we are--we must make use of the time we have to "git 'er done".  The next task is moving the radio room.  God help us all!