A Fun and Crazy July 4th

We had a long crazy weekend, albeit a fun one, what with the 4^th of July celebration and all. We knew it was going to be a little crazy, though we all really enjoyed ourselves, though as usual, I would have rather stayed at home and mowed the lawn and took a long nap.

We lucked out with the weather and had warm sunny skies, just beautiful, though at times a little hot, but I’m not complaining… sort of. The plan was for the kids to march in the parade with the library, and R and I to ride our bikes with TT. I’m still not clear how TT keeps hanging on, they have only a few members, but there they are, still doing their thing. They asked us to help with the float and to ride in support, and we agreed. It’s fun being in the parade, and personally I’d rather be involved than just an observer.

We had to get there a little early to set up. All of us met at the library and the floats were brought over to the starting area, which was a mad house. I have to confess, it’s sort of fun because the entire community comes out, and the kids had a blast seeing their friends. Once the parade got started, it was bedlam. There were tons of people on the sidewalks watching, and I have to confess to being a little self-conscious about all those people watching us, but it’s so crazy out there, nobody even notices you. They’re all caught up in the festivities.

After the parade, we joined in the party, which is always a big affair around here. Lots of food, activities, and fun. R and I sat in the grass and waited for the kids, who were in the library cooling off. At some point, A showed up hanging with EM, her new buddy, who is a really cool and neat kid, though as usual, older than A. N, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he had gone to check out the tractor pull and was all by his lonesome.

I went over to the tractor pull and brought him a burger and hot dog, which he gratefully devoured. It was cute to see him all by himself watching the pull, and interesting that he had the wherewithal to do something he wanted to do without his big sister there. Part of our movement to independence that we’re trying to encourage in him. At some point CH showed up and they hung out for a bit, which was great, because N likes him. CH even went off to get some strawberry shortcake, and then returned to hang with N. That was cool.

Now I’ve never really spent much time at a tractor pull, but it’s pretty serious business. There is an entire sub-culture to it all, and there were people who not only came prepared with chairs, food, and drink, but stayed for the entire time of the fair. Talk about dedication.

At some point, N and CH wanted to check out the fair, so they took off and went to the game booth. N eventually got to hang with his UF buddies.

I went over to the gazebo where they were doing “Name that Tune,” and they had quite the turnout. It was hilarious, with serious music lovers taking it very seriously. It got quite heated, and the competition was fierce. Interestingly, there were numerous teenagers involved, though the music was really focused on classic rock and oldies. I think they would have benefited from including more contemporary music.

By the end of the contest, the fair was winding down, and it was time to go home until that night when the fireworks were to begin. We chilled out for a bit and had some supper (something healthy), and then it was time to go back to the rec center for more fun. It was crowded, and you could see the kids hanging out and forming their respective cliques. Adolescence is such a complicated time.

A&N took off running with their friends, and R and I ended up sitting by ourselves and just checking out the scene. The kids ended up sitting with CH’s family to watch the fireworks, and we missed them during the show. In fact, we decided that next year, we want them to sit with us during the fireworks, for our own emotional benefit, of course, not to mention the fact that we’d like to keep tabs on them in the evening.

After the fireworks, it was late, and we were exhausted. The combination of a late night and being the hot sun all day really takes it out of you, and even a few days afterward, I’m still recovering. I’m getting too old for this.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday, and until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Wong Mei Teng for the pic.