Next Year

Oh dear....our Fourth of July celebration scored a bit high on the frustration-o-meter this year. We had some lil' munchkins visiting from Chiquita-Viejo-Sonora-By-The-Sea and we promised them a lovely time. We did have a wonderful dinner and it made my heart happy to see the girls, Kit and Samantha, eating corn and green beans. (Somehow, I wondered if that day would ever arrive...) JJ and DJ did a fantastic job with the items on the grill and Max was a good host to his cousin, Erika Joy. She's half his size, so he felt more in control than when Miss Lexie was here recently.

Then we loaded up in the truck (doesn't that sound Southern) and headed for the lake. We found a great parking spot after trying out the lot of a good friend's church nearby and then scooted out when we realized he actually was having a church event to watch the fireworks... DJ had our beach chair but didn't feel he needed to carry it like a back-pack and reminded me he thought that was a quite silly feature, and then the munchkins' mama said, "All the soccer Moms carry them that way." But DJ didn't hear her. We all had something - a blanket, a chair, sweatshirts or such....

Soon we were settled in for the lights fantastic. JJ was encouraging me to pass the time by asking other guests a) Have you asked Jesus into your heart? b) How have you spent your week this week? If you died tonight; where would you go? c) Do you think that fourth guy in the furnace was really Jesus? d) Is there a literal Hell? e) was Judas destined to betray Christ? and so on.... and after asking each new friend the question, he thought we should be sure to wish them a "Happy July 4th!" Now don't misunderstand, I'm all for sharing Jesus' love, but we were in hysterics as the questions came out.... and I've forgotten many of them. Just picture it ~~~ Prodigal Jon would have been coming up with good ones, too if he'd been with us here in Sunny.

We began to hear fireworks far away. Hmmm. Finally, our show started a full half hour later. A very long half hour later, I might add. Our munchkins had been a tad restless! Then BOOM! the show began in all its glory. And the children behind us began to scream. The folks in front of us began to take pictures - flash pictures. And the children behind us began to scream. The children began "naming" the fireworks as they hit the sky --- and then they scream. Not from fright. Just for the sake of screaming! To complete the scenario, the folks who had seen the fireworks on the other side of the lake began leaving. Driving their cars with their lights on through our gathered masses.... And the children behind us began to scream. We realized the adults with said children were laughing as the screams occurred. To finish off our experience, the gathered masses began "Booooooing" the cars as they were leaving. And all the while, each "Boom" was completed with that tell-tale flash. Ten minutes was all we could take. We gathered up our blanket, chairs and clutter and found a quiet tree to lean against nearby to watch the finale. Even Kit and Samantha were ready to bolt. Wow.

So today ~ We made plans with some good friends who've just moved to a new place in a highrise downtown. Next year we're going to take our plate of celery, some carrot sticks with a spicy cream cheese spread, some watermelon, a keg of Root Beer, and a bag of chips over to their party. It will be just like going over to see Uncle Bill, Buffy, Jody, Sissy and Mr. French...