Ponder this:

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Independence Day

I was looking for some pretty-colored fireworks to put in here, but then I kept thinking about how, when the Revolutionary War re-enactments are going on down at the old fort in the village, every time I hear the whump of a gun or a cannon, it is a remembrance of war. And, really . . . haven't we had enough of that by now?

So instead of lauding the rockets' red glare and the bombs bursting in air, I'm going to celebrate that I was lucky enough to be born in this country, have always had enough clean water, enough to eat, a place to live, more than enough clothing, the luxury and joy of pets and private transportation and the freedom to live with one other person in the middle of forty-eight acres of hay fields that belong to us. 
More or less. 
If you don't count having to pay the bank and the taxes.

Around 9:30 tonight, we will sit on the back lawn and watch the tippy tops of the fireworks from the park in the village. Molly will cool her belly on the dewy grass, I'll stretch out completely flat and feel at one with the earth. Peep will come and go and wonder why we are all out in the open like that in the dark, and not jumping on tiny bugs in the grass.

I'll celebrate the fact that tonight when it gets dark, my fireworks will be at the ends of little magical bugs that fly over the tops of the grass . . . and fly, sometimes, far, far up into the sky. I wonder if, every now and then, one of them spies the stars and is drawn that way. 
Who is to say it isn't true?

15 comments:

Linda Myers said...

We will attend a ceremony honoring the veterans at a nearby Native American casino. I have two vets who will be allowing me to tag along.

I have happy childhood memories of the Fourth, so I will be remembering those.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Enjoy celebrating from your back lawn June dear, embrace your furry friends, and delight in your pretty bugs.
Happy Independence Day.

Muffy's Marks said...

Life is good being a US Citizen!! Happy Fourth!!

DJan said...

What a wonderful image of you and your fur babies on the Fourth. I think you've got a great life going on right now, and you are sharing it with me. Thank you so much! :-)

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Poor little fireflies ... that really would be a case of 'per ardua , ad astra' .
Have a wonderful holiday weekend furry and non-furry alike !

Barb said...

Lovely! I miss fireflies here in CO. I was in bed last night reading when I heard the fireworks going off in town!

Carolynn Anctil said...

Lovely poetic close. That's my kind of fireworks, too.

Vicki Lane said...

A lovely post, June. So much to be thankful for -- who needs fireworks!

Tamara said...

Here in AZ, I miss the magic of fireflies too. It was as if the faeries were performing a ballet. Love the visual image of them trying to reach the stars. That would make a wonderful theme for a children's book...

John M said...

I love your quote about the future becoming the past at every moment.

Pauline said...

Right there with you!

Jenny Woolf said...

I often remind myself of how incredibly lucky we are to live in first world countries with freedom and rights. It took me some years and getting older to be able to lift my eyes from my own concerns enough to realise this though.

Tom said...

Nice post. Besides, those fireworks send our terror-stricken dog hiding under the bed.

rachel said...

I like your method of watching fireworks! And how happy you sound with your new family....

Sharon said...

My kind of celebration, and it sounds like you have the best place for it. I feel lucky to live here, too.