I don't know what came over me
I've never been a particularly patriotic person. I've never really made any sort of big deal out of the 4th of July. In fact, in the last 5 or so years my motivation to actually make it to a proper Fireworks viewing location has dwindled to nonexistent. My poor deprived children.
I have very fond memories of fireworks in my home town when growing up. July 4th was always a very exciting time for me, and of course at the root of this was the sheer excitement of watching things explode loudly. Even more exciting than the colorful display high in the sky was the fact that we actually got to light some ourselves. We got to watch the thrilling pyrotechnic display of colors and smoke and bottle-rockets. We got the thrill of cheating the dangers of explosives by running away just in the nick of time. The thrill of watching my father light it and worrying for a fleeting moment if he would make it through OK, or if he would regret that fateful night when he lost his right hand to a misbehaving rocket.
I have warming memories of climbing onto the roof on the back of our house with blankts and my family and curling up to watch the fireworks show, as impressive as it could be, for Delta.
Even still, I never made a big deal out of the 4th of July. Not until this year. Something came over me and I have no idea where it came from. I bought beautiful red white and blue balloons and blew them up myself (except for the giant 3 foot balloon, which was inflated with helium for me). I decorated the deck with balloons and even bought confetti and glittery body decorations to wear. I even went so far as to buy a flag to hang on the house. Granted, it was cardboard, but it was still the first flag I've ever actually owned.
Nikolai and I baked a very special cake for him. We even put a big yellow N on it. We baked a lemon cake with lemon frosting, little baby cakes. Lemon ones. I presented watermelon in a lovely fashion on serving dishes. I served chips and dips and veggies and ranch beautifully on serving dishes. I diced up fresh strawberries and we had strawberry shortcake, even though half of us weren't supposed to due to potential divurticulitis complications.
Perhaps I was trying to compensate for the lack of legal explosives with cake.
Miraculously I stumbled upon some "fireworks" being sold at Safeway. They weren't actually fireworks, but I tell ya they were the next best thing. They made very loud explosive like noises when "launched" and covered the deck with a beautiful and festive layer of confetti.
Unfortunately Nikolai and Matt were both sick, and I was coming down with what I think must be the third phase of this stupid virus that still has me sick, so unfortunately it wasn't quite as upbeat as it could have been. You'd never know from our level of enjoyment, though. I think everybody except Anthony had a wonderful time.
We finished off the evening with a viewing of the very loveable movie Paulie. Even Nikolai joined in for much of the viewing before he decided we were done and got up to change the input on the TV for us so we could check out the highly entertaining static on the other input setting.
I have very fond memories of fireworks in my home town when growing up. July 4th was always a very exciting time for me, and of course at the root of this was the sheer excitement of watching things explode loudly. Even more exciting than the colorful display high in the sky was the fact that we actually got to light some ourselves. We got to watch the thrilling pyrotechnic display of colors and smoke and bottle-rockets. We got the thrill of cheating the dangers of explosives by running away just in the nick of time. The thrill of watching my father light it and worrying for a fleeting moment if he would make it through OK, or if he would regret that fateful night when he lost his right hand to a misbehaving rocket.
I have warming memories of climbing onto the roof on the back of our house with blankts and my family and curling up to watch the fireworks show, as impressive as it could be, for Delta.
Even still, I never made a big deal out of the 4th of July. Not until this year. Something came over me and I have no idea where it came from. I bought beautiful red white and blue balloons and blew them up myself (except for the giant 3 foot balloon, which was inflated with helium for me). I decorated the deck with balloons and even bought confetti and glittery body decorations to wear. I even went so far as to buy a flag to hang on the house. Granted, it was cardboard, but it was still the first flag I've ever actually owned.
Nikolai and I baked a very special cake for him. We even put a big yellow N on it. We baked a lemon cake with lemon frosting, little baby cakes. Lemon ones. I presented watermelon in a lovely fashion on serving dishes. I served chips and dips and veggies and ranch beautifully on serving dishes. I diced up fresh strawberries and we had strawberry shortcake, even though half of us weren't supposed to due to potential divurticulitis complications.
Perhaps I was trying to compensate for the lack of legal explosives with cake.
Miraculously I stumbled upon some "fireworks" being sold at Safeway. They weren't actually fireworks, but I tell ya they were the next best thing. They made very loud explosive like noises when "launched" and covered the deck with a beautiful and festive layer of confetti.
Unfortunately Nikolai and Matt were both sick, and I was coming down with what I think must be the third phase of this stupid virus that still has me sick, so unfortunately it wasn't quite as upbeat as it could have been. You'd never know from our level of enjoyment, though. I think everybody except Anthony had a wonderful time.
We finished off the evening with a viewing of the very loveable movie Paulie. Even Nikolai joined in for much of the viewing before he decided we were done and got up to change the input on the TV for us so we could check out the highly entertaining static on the other input setting.
posted by rebecca at 7:17 PM
6 Comments:
awww. i wish we would have been there. despite my lack of patriotism, it sounds like good family fun. and...well...cake. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm cake.
yeah, that's kind of where I was at with it, too. I think it was just an excuse for me to bake some cake and enjoy my family. werks fer me
The kids here went happy with the confetti poppers too, sent them onto the garden and told them to "decorate" the sunflower leaves. Any excuse to bake a cake is a good one, in fact how does the new oven work? When we come visit I want to bake you up a basket of my sugar cookies.
at this point I'd just settle for a visit.
lol I really am working on it sillyhead. Goodness knows you're the only one who deosn't try to get me to lay off the caffine. As for the when, that I gotta figure out with Kim (so she can have a back-up sitter), and Matt, sometime this fall he will get a week off work, he has to get a week "break" when his 90 days are up (because of the "promotion freeze" for postial workers, they have to fire him for 7 days, then hire him with a new job title and higher pay), they're working him 5/6 days every week since he started, so it should be mid fall. If we can't get a back-up sitter during Matt's week off, then it'll just be the boys and I flying up instead of all of us. I know it's my year to visit you, but with daycare, you gotta make sure the timing works for your customers as well.
mm hm. well, as long as i see you this year I don't mind much when it is.
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