Our Country Tis of Thee….

So it is July 4th weekend time. Tomorrow is the day for traditions and family. Whether your traditions are going to a parade, having a cookout, and/or going to fireworks; it is about spending time with family and friends. Ever since I can remember, we have always gone to the same parade the day of the 4th and it has always been fun. As we have gotten older, we have stopped going. I might go with some friends or part of my family goes, but all of us no longer go together. We also always went to watch the same fireworks show every year the weekend of the 4th. It has always been a fun time for us to go to the dollar store before and to grab a bunch of junk food and candy as well as pop-its and sparklers. Traditions may not stay the same as the years go by; but nonetheless, it is still a good time. For this years festivities with my family, has been busy. We just helped my brother move into his apartment a couple hours away for his internship. He will be working there until he finished school in March and then afterwards he will be moving in with his fiancé after their wedding in early April. He will not be joining us this year for the 4th of July festivities as he is preparing to start his life up there. My sister likes to hang with her friends almost 24/7 that she is not working so we will be lucky to see her at all tomorrow. So that leaves just 4, my parents, me, and my little brother. I plan to take my little brother to the parade tomorrow and then I will be helping my mom prepare food for a cookout that we will be having. Once it is dark, I hope that we will be able to shoot off some of the small firework stuff. It is never the same as actual fireworks as they don’t shoot up towards the sky; but they are fun sometimes. I missed all the firework shows near me due to work and helping my brother move in. It is just a fact of life now that we are all getting older and starting to have lives of our own. I say all this not to make you sad that traditions do not always last; but I say to let you know that despite no longer following all the traditions, you and whoever you chose to spend the holiday with will always remember all the fun that you had while doing those said traditions. Some of my fondest memories were of meeting my friends in a parking lot and sitting in the trunk of the vans on blankets and watching the fireworks while shoving a ton of candy in our mouths. It was always something that we looked forward to as soon as summer hit. Traditions make memories that will last a lifetime.