4th of July Parade

Even with the cloudy skies and drizzle, it did my heart good to see the children scurrying around on the porch, reaching for a cookie and happily sharing toys. (My father was in disbelief that so many children interacted together without one crying “incident”).

You could definitely feel the anticipation (both children and adults) as we waited for that first drumbeat and flicker of light from the fire truck. As the opening marching band approached we eagerly proceeded to the curb where I had strategically placed several of our beach chairs. While the other children nestled on the laps of their parents, Alan enjoyed the freedom of wandering the yard without my constant lecture about handholding. Occasionally he would climb atop his “popper” to watch the surprising sights around him. I watched Ava covet his “ride”, so I added another vehicle from Alan’s fleet creating a little parade of our own in my front yard.

While I am partial to fire trucks (mainly because of Alan’s interest), my favorite floats have always been the ones with live music. Several caught my eye this year. But it’s hard to go into any more detail, because here’s the downside to parades. You can only enjoy the music for a moment, and then it’s - - - more fire trucks. So it’s a challenge keeping the children interested. If you’re lucky, a lollipop will land on your lap.

Intermittent showers had some of us back on the porch, but several diehards like Julie and Jace stayed curbside. Eventually, after the fumes of the antique tractors had us light-headed, we all re-convened on the porch for some more blueberry cobbler (made by moi!), chocolate chip cookies (a la Jamie), pumpkin bread (Julie), as well as some real lunch food.

While passing out lemonade spritzers (non alcoholic), I thought about those cupcakes which I had made last night sitting in my fridge. With all of the candy, cookies and sweet breads that the children had already consumed, I thought if I brought out one more once of sugar, the parents would never speak to me again! So after everyone left, I walked over to the firehouse. The party there was just beginning. I handed them to the lieutenant and thanked him for a job well done.