But anyway, here are some of the things I used to not notice, but now I miss daily:
Citizenship
Capitalism
Low taxes
Free huge libraries
Doctor offices
Nurses
United States Currency
Smooth streets
Greeting passers-by
Mother's yelling in the park
Variety of brands
Stores open until 10:00
Patriotism
Bravado
Independence and Rights
Striking up conversations with perfect strangers...
We went to the states to celebrate July 4th. My kids hadn't done that for 6 years, so some of them had NEVER done it. I feel really strongly about them having 4th of July memories like mine, so we loaded them all up and made the trip across the border. I couldn't wait for them to feel the beat of the drum in their chest as marching bands went by in the parade: Horses, clowns, firetrucks, floats, flags, scads of American citizens lining the streets! However. We got there 5 minutes too late. The last of the parade had just passed, so all we saw were dispersing scads of American citizens lining the streets. Not a pony, nor a fez hat in sight. Missing a parade by minutes that you've waited 6 years for is one of the most forlorn feelings I've ever felt. Especially when you're mixed up in the aftermath of people who've just enjoyed it. SO left out.
This is what we did instead, to kill time until the fireworks were scheduled 8 hours later:
Watched this dog fetch a stick, over and over and over.
Walked around the River Path at the Monument.
Walking wasn't entertaining enough for Tristan, he rolled.
Sawyer let gravity carry him.
Which wasn't too smart considering that concrete awaited at the bottom of the hill.
But they just jumped up and went right back for more.
Tooled around the city and exclaimed over things like this.
Sawyer finally got to drive a car.
And we gathered with all the other citizens at dusk and hung out until this started.
The feeling of missing the parade eventually wore off and we really enjoyed the rest of the day.
We came home full of July 4th-ness. Next year, we are going to go MUCH earlier.
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