The Light Gap
Celebrations of Independence
It’s a week of celebration for our country. I have fond memories of the 4th of July as a child. We were always at our grandparents for the small town parade, a celebration with delicious steaks grilled by our grandfather ( A HUGE treat for us!), and always a flag ceremony to put the flag out to proudly display it from an upstairs window location where such a huge flag could drape over the front of the house. We always sang a few patriotic songs, listening to our grandmother playing the piano downstairs. I have the memories of my grandfather tearing up every time this took place over many years. My grandmother died when I was only 9, so we did not always have piano playing unless my Mom decided to do it…but my grandfather kept up that tradition for as long as I can remember!
Our family learned to CELEBRATE our country on the 4th of JULY!
We were celebrating the beautiful gift of being free to think and BE who we wanted to be. Now, as we face such turmoil in our country, I wonder at the difficult times that took place during World War I and II that my grandparents were probably visioning. They talked about the aftermath of the Civil War even…relatives having lived through that positively horrible part of U.S history. I never thought about that as a child, but what I remember is complete gratitude that we were living in a free country to grow up in and be nurtured through. We tend to think that we are the only generation that has experienced the kind of division we have going on now. And yet turmoil is hardly new. So, while my grandparents were not poor, they worked very hard to always help a small town community be vibrant and alive. And they ALWAYS expressed the gratitude for everything positive in their lives.
These days the 
are hardly one day long, so we both hope you are celebrating everything positive in YOUR life today! Very often people are on vacations and families celebrate away from each other. But it is what is in our hearts that is most important for all of us. Our beliefs are honored, we are free to express them, and our trials and tribulations of life can be set aside when we fill our hearts in gratitude for all that is RIGHT and BEAUTIFUL in our lives.
