Tuesday, July 5

Did you know...

Did you know that we are in a drought here? I will admit that it is sometimes difficult for me to remember that it isn’t just one sunny day after another. It is strange how quickly I have become accustom to not checking the predicted weather reports before daring to walk outside.

Fourth of July in this area was odd as cities and counties banned the use of fireworks and even many professional venues canceled their shows. Apparently the country club my parents live near had confidence in their manicured lawn's ability to not burst into flames so last night I found myself sitting in a gas station parking lot. Its not the same as laying on a blanket in a dark grassy field. Not the same at all.

This year it was decided that it was too hot and dry to go to my friend's place in the country. There is a burn ban in their county as well and they haven't installed A/C in their cabin yet. So for the first time in years I was in the city for the Fourth and sitting in parking lot. I missed the ride in the pick-up bed from the cabin to the fair ground and the part where we find a grassy place to sit and pull the blankets and bug spray out of the Mary Poppins bag. We had no children with our group at the parking lot so I missed the hour long build up of, “When are the fireworks going to start?” Okay, maybe I didn't miss that part.

But I missed what comes after that - when the fireworks start and we lay back on our blankets, limbs all tangled together, and the kids cheer and clap. The whining and the hassle of getting there seems unimportant. Suddenly, it's not too hot or buggy. Suddenly everything feels just right. And that was what I missed last night.

2 comments:

The Bug said...

I'm sorry your evening wasn't how you wanted it to be. We watched the Boston Pops show as usual. I don't like loud noises. Dr. M would LOVE to go watch in person, & sometimes he does drag me out, but not this year. Which was sad because the heat was actually pretty reasonable this year.

But I don't feel too bad - last year we were at Lake Erie so he got his live fix then.

Anonymous said...

Not being an American, I do not share this tradition but you made it sound wonderful and something that I missed out on. Hope the rest of summer continues to be great but fire free.