My Fourth of July

I will spare the gory details of every single thing that happened at my house over the Fourth weekend with my family here, plus Russian grandma.  Suffice it to say, we were busy!  The children went to Sky Zone (the trampoline place) and Splash Island (the local pool) thanks to their stepfather.  And for the actual Fourth activities, we were all split.  Megan and Denis and the children went to a street concert in Indy--something that Robin wanted to do--while Grandma Luda and I went to Hummel Park with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Phil for our very own Symphony on the Prairie.  Plus fireworks.

Hummel is just down the street from my house.  The band shell, etc., is on the back side of the park, so we endeavored to go early to get a good parking spot, but we weren't early enough.  It all worked out.  I used my rollator, so all was well.

What we encountered at the park was the Hendricks County Symphony, playing "patriotic pops".  I loved it all!  There wasn't anything they played that was strange to me....The National Anthem, God Bless America, the military medley that needed veterans to stand up, show tunes, etc...but the last set (the one I loved the most) was the 1812 Overture, the William Tell Overture, a couple of Sousa marches (Washington Post March...and one other), ending with The Stars and Stripes Forever.  Wow!  The fireworks began just where the cannon fire would have happened in the 1812 Overture.  I got goose bumps!  And Stars and Stripes Forever ended just before the end of the fireworks--a finale that was absolutely fantastic.  Better than ever before!  And lest the fireworks end without musical accompaniment, the PA piped in "Born in the USA".

To be brutally honest, I looked at this experience as my last.  If it is, I was blessed!  Luda claimed to enjoy herself.  Judy and Phil are steadfast.  The other faction of the family apparently had a great time, in spite of perceived challenges about seating and places to watch fireworks.  It all happened as it should have!

In the end, no one went hungry.  No one got left out.  Everyone got to celebrate the day as they chose.
God Bless America...and God Bless my family!