indepencia

The fourth of July... fireworks, freedom, and fun. As far as holidays go, I guess it's never been one of my favorites or one of the most meaningful. Don't get me wrong; I love my country and all of that. It's just that when I think of holidays, I think about the celebration with my family, and my family has never really had very specific 4th of July traditions. My mom's not big on fireworks (...big surprise), but we've always had some Sparklers and little things. Usually we'd spend the 4th with our cousins, either at the lake house (we had our own long before the movie) or at their house in the country, and my uncle and cousins would set off some fun stuff. But a couple of years, I spent the day with Abby at a family friend's, and one year, I remember lighting off fireworks after the 4th in the parking lot of a church (I can't remember with who, though). Some years my grandparents will have a cookout; other years we'll have people over. A couple of times, our youth group went to an Indianapolis Indians game and watched fireworks afterwards. Sometimes I'd go to the Haynes-Apperson festival with friends. This year, we went to a cookout with some family friends, and a few days ago I watched the fireworks with Gwen.

Despite usually doing something and usually having some fun, I guess the 4th of July isn't as memorable for me because there aren't any family traditions, exactly. With a lot of other holidays, I can remember things we do every year... and when we have strayed from that, it doesn't feel right.

I do enjoy fireworks a whole lot, though... and I like the holiday. It's nice, and usually we do something outside because it's summer, unlike a lot of holidays. Plus, I think it's nice to think about our country and the military and our history, because although they are things that affects our everyday life, we don't often think about them during our everyday life.

So, happy 4th of July, everyone... hope you have a fun and memorable holiday. :) I'm off to go watch Beauty and the Beast with my momma~!