Today is the day! The day when people "blow shit up" like the Navy SEALs and everyone cheers. It's the day of really appreciating Firefighters everywhere, both on duty and off, and a day to sit back and relax. The fight is over for another year. Back to the grindstone tomorrow; but today is for being grateful for the reprieve.
I'm not terribly patriotic except when it comes to Independence Day. It gives me a chance to reflect on the opportunities and freedoms I enjoy living here, and I'm grateful for them. I'm grateful for the right to complain when I don't like something the government has chosen to endorse or do. I'm grateful, as a woman, for the right to vote, speak out, govern, and work in any profession I wish to pursue. A hundred years ago, that wasn't the case in this country; it still isn't in several countries around our world.
Of course, I like the great piles of food; turkey dogs, chicken burgers, krumpli salat (Hungarian potato salad), tart lemon bars, thick creamy Mississippi Mud, and chocolate wine; and the kicking back with friends on this day. I also really like the fireworks. In Las Vegas, the fireworks displays are larger than life and there several shows explode on the Strip and around the valley. Heck, you can stand outside and watch your neighbors shoot off displays just about as large as those from the Casino Resorts in town.
In my house, the master bathroom windows face south toward the Strip and every Independence Day, my husband sets thick fluffy towels on the marble and invites me in with him to watch the fireworks displays on the Strip from our bathtub. The A/C keeps us cool and the lights brighten the (usually) clear sky.
This year we have a lot of humidity (for us) and there are clouds filling our valley. It will be interesting to watch the fireworks illuminating the cloud cover in brilliant splashes of colored light. I'm sure it will look like Las Vegas is experiencing party-colored bomb blasts from space!
I hope your Independence Day celebrations are safe and full of wonderful family and friends. I hope your loved ones are home safe, and you are able to really enjoy your freedoms this year!
I know I will! :)
