the fourth

Summer was a time of happiness, barbecues, family get togethers and ultimately celebration growing up. My family would host a block party every year when we first moved into the neighborhood. We would pass out flyers a few weeks before and on that hot summer day of the party we would pull out lawn chairs, the ping pong table, basketballs and every other "toy" we had. My dad would set out ice chests full of drinks. One for the kids with soda and juice. One for the adults with beer and Coronas, only complete with a plate of sliced limes.

All the kids on the street, which there were a lot back then since it was a new neighborhood with lots of young families, would bring their bikes and roller blades and we would all ride up and down the street racing each other, sometimes almost in parade fashion. I remember loving those parties. And sometimes we would have everyone in our backyard for a pool party splashing every adult that dared to come near the pool, fighting for the rafts and noodles. It was a time when we were carefree, nothing could hurt us. Me, the other kids, nor my family.

As time went on, as it does, the kids grew older and families changed. Some parents on the street divorced, some of the kids grew too old to play with the younger ones and we all became very self aware around junior high when you just couldn't all be friends with everyone for some odd reason. The block parties eventually stopped and summer friday happy hours that another one of our neighbors hosted ended too.

I feel as though Fourth of July is kind of like New Year's Eve, it's always a great time if you have some fabulous party to go too, but if not, you end up home alone with your parents - something I found horrifying in high school. Yesterday, I was tempted to go to a few parties, but in the end, I realized I really just wanted to be that kid again with my family at a summer neighborhood block party. The problem was, that wasn't possible because there was no such thing yesterday in my neighborhood. But there was my family.

So I didn't attend a great exciting fourth of July party or even see an amazing fireworks spectacular at the lake or local park, but I did get to spend the day with my small family, however much its changed over the years. And last night after barbecuing burgers with my Dad and sitting in my grandparent's back yard next to my Uncle watching about five different fireworks shows across Orange County - only extremely small in the distance - hearing that boom, boom, boom far off, made me feel a bit like a kid again. I wasn't with a lot of people nor did we have a huge food spread or even lay out by the pool, but I spent the day with family on a hot summer afternoon and evening - the people that love me the most and the people I want to love the most.