Today is one of my all-time favorite holidays. I can’t help but love it. Here are a few of the many reasons why:
1. Summertime. Just when the “holiday season” seems a hundred years away, this day happens.
2. Versatility. You can celebrate indoors or outdoors, or both, which provides limitless options for where to party and reduces the chance that everyone ends up sitting in the living room staring at each other and pretending to ignore those dust bunnies in the corner.
3. Fireworks. They only happen at night and anything that convinces people to go outside after the sun has set and look into the sky, is a wonderful thing in my book.
4. Patriotism. I don’t know that I can do this one justice. It’s the flags, the pride, the people not too busy to take off their hats when the national anthem plays. It’s the veterans who receive a nod and a thank you on the street by people who would have normally ignored them. It’s the feeling of community that comes with slowing down long enough to realize life is pretty good and this is a pretty nice place to be living it out.
5. Parades. One of my few chances to feel like I live in a simpler age and time. There is something wonderful about standing alongside strangers and neighbors and cheering together as trucks and floats and kids stream past.
6. Food. Second only to Thanksgiving, this is my favorite food day of the year. Today my house will have hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, coleslaw, fresh corn on the cob, my granny’s pickles (if you don’t know of them already, I won’t introduce you. I can’t handle sharing them as it is), watermelon, and strawberry shortcake. And that might only be the lunch menu.
7. Red, White & Blue. I’m a fan of organization so if the whole country can be convinced to wear the same set of colors, I’ll support it.
8. Movies. There are a ton of great 4th of July movies to have playing for anyone needing a break from the sun or something to watch while digesting the above-mentioned meal. My favorite- The Sandlot. Sure, it might not be all about July 4th, but it’s about summer and kids and baseball and there’s a great scene under the fireworks that leads straight to my 9th reason.
9. Music. What better time of year to turn up some music while you grill? If you know me well, you know I’m a lover of old music. And I don’t consider the 80′s to be old. I’m talking about The Drifters. And there’s something about the 4th of July and music from that era that makes me want to throw open the doors to my house and turn the sprinklers on in the yard and invite all the neighbors to come run and play with us. Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful World” is at the top of my playlist every year. I’ve probably listened to it 20 times already today. And you know what? It is a wonderful world.
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