I don’t know what it is about the Fourth of July.
If it’s the atmosphere or the fireworks or the tradition. Perhaps it’s all three. But whatever it is, it is one of my all time favorite holidays.
I looked around tonight. Magoo was twirling around with her glow in the dark jewelry with her cousins, Mae was asleep on TJ’s chest, and Goose was sitting on my lap, slowly giving way to sleep under the show of “pretty thunder,” and I felt as if my life were complete. I was surrounded by everyone I love, and my heart was so full I felt as if it might explode.
Thoughts of July Fourths of years past crowded into my mind, tiny remembrances of the multitude of little blessings I have faced in my life.
We used to be the little ones on the blankets, licorice in hand, looks of awe as we gazed up at the sky. And now we all sat on chairs, the little ones in front of us and cuddled on our laps. The torch had been passed. But burning bright it remained.
We started out as six and are not going on nineteen.
It was in that moment that I knew one day Mae would be a middle child rather than the baby. There’s just something about big families. A party at the ready whenever a situation arises. Built in friends. Companions. Pasts and futures. Compatriots.
Life doesn’t grant us all that many moments of absolute perfection, but when it does, it can be breath taking.
Happy Independence Day!
