Silver Linings

It was the Best of Times. It was the Worst of Times. This pretty much describes our 4th of July weekend.

Our family loves holidays as much, or more, than the next person. What's not to love about the 4th? Celebrating our Independence with fireworks, music, fun, and BBQ? Sounds like a guaranteed good time, right?

Well, our plans took a turn for the worse when my husband got sick. Between that and the anticipated rain, we spent the weekend at home. Instead of festivals and fun, we wound up playing video games, watching movies, coloring, and reading books all day long. Then, night came. No rain yet, but still a cloudy sky and rainy forecast. What to do?

Having spent the whole day hanging out at home, it seemed too much to give up on all celebrations. Ron was feeling better after R & R all day, so we ventured out to Star Spangled Spectacular. The kids enjoyed the inflatables, the band was performing oldies, it was a fun time until.... it started to sprinkle.

Sprinkle, well - we can live with that right? The kids were already wet and that wasn't going to improve if we gave up and walked to the car. So, we had to decide, give up or stick it out?

The information booth claimed the fireworks were still happening. The rain wasn't coming down too hard. The kids were happy. Okay, we'll stick it out. The girls played with their glow-in-the-dark sticks, we danced in the rain, and we did our best to make the most of it and remain optimistic.

Then, it starts to rain a little harder. But, the fireworks are supposed to start in 5-10 minutes and we waited THIS long. What to do?

We stick it out. Five minutes later, it starts to rain BUCKETS and the fireworks are officially cancelled. We got home, bathed the girls, laundered the wet clothes, and looked at each other thinking, have we truly lost our minds? Why didn't we give up sooner? Why did we even try? Why, why, why?

And then, our oldest says, just before drifting to sleep... "Thanks mom. I had lots of fun. Let's dance in the rain EVERY 4th of July."

We didn't see fireworks on the 4th. We missed out on BBQ and picnics. We didn't make it to the parades. We DID make memories, and hopefully our kids never forget to find the silver linings as we did this 4th of July!

Photo: Light Girls at Flags for Freedom 2010 (early July 3rd... our one successful outing)