A Fourth....

I do believe my mind is flip flopping all over the place again. The ideas I want to put down are swirling around, a wisp of thought floating by and gone again. You'll just have to put up with the dizzying turns my mind is taking if you read this. Don't say I didnt' warn you. :o)

Happy July 4th. Isn't it wonderful that we can be here to utter that oft said phrase?

It is so easy to let it roll of the tongue with a corner of your mouth curled into a small smile for the person passing by.

Keeping my eyes straight ahead I walk down the sidewalk, enjoying the sights and sounds of people celebrating the day. Do they really celebrate the day or celebrate because they have an excuse to celebrate? I'm just as much into it as everyone else; it is fun to be jolly and have a good time.

But... do any of us take the moment to think back to why we are doing this? It is not my intention to tell a history lesson. I wanted to mull over what we, as a nation, are doing today. There are many articles and speeches today about taking the moment to appreciate the fact that we can do this, this moment of reflection. I'm not crazy about using that term, 'reflection', because it is not something I think people do at all anymore unless it there is a specific reason to do so such as making speeches and writing articles.

I am going to try not to be a hypocrite and tell anyone to reflect. I am going to try to do it myself though. I do sincerely appreciate what our forefathers have done for us. I do appreciate what our troops do for us today and all of those years in between.

As a person, I'm not sure I would be in this frame of mind if it wasn't for a family member who is in the armed forces at this moment, serving overseas away from his family and home. I love my sister and for her husband to be away from her and their boys is terrible but I believe in what he is doing. My husband, who has never served, is the apex of our family. I believe in him just as much because he believes in our great nation and the values we try to uphold. He may never serve his country in a position where he has to fight. I truly hope it never comes to that but he is just as much a believer as those who place themselves in dangerous situations.

So maybe we should celebrate not only what our nation has achieved, not only what our troops are achieving now but also the fact that we are here holding the values that we live. I can hope that the American people are subconciously thinking about the reason we have this day while they party on.