I remember the first year we went, my daughter, who is now 13, had just learned to walk and run. She was following her older brothers as they ran after the crabs that came out at night when the fireworks started and she screamed and turned and ran as fast as she could the other way, and she was so little that is was just hilarious.
The next year, every time a firework went of she would scream "beautiful" and clap her hands.
Every year the boys would race each other at night and try to catch the most crabs in their buckets, the problem with that is, crabs can climb out of those buckets. They would get so frustrated because they just couldn't keep those darn crabs in the buckets and it was yet another great memory.
When we moved from Virginia to Kansas, we found a town that did fireworks like I had never seen before. Little Haysville, Kansas went crazy. The fireworks show was amazing and then after the official show, there was a family that did their own show right across the street that was almost as good.
When we moved to Haysville, the entire week before the 4th the number of fireworks that went off was crazy but very enjoyable. We used to float in the pool at night and watch the fireworks. And on the 4th the activities lasted all day long, starting with the parade and the fishing derby, followed by the raft races and the entire afternoon spent at the city pool going down the slides and off the diving boards, followed by the super fun city fireworks.
But as our kids got older, they wanted to start going their separate ways. My two oldest boys started going off with a friend for the holiday every year. And then this year, the boys went off, my daughter was volunteering for a youth group fundraiser, and no one was interested in going to the celebration.
So I wasn't looking forward to the holiday this year. It was making me fear that this would be what the future was going to look like with all of our kids going off on their own separate ways and leaving my husband and I to ourselves.
But then I saw a tweet from Proverbs 31 ministries about being intentional about celebrating God's miracles...and maybe the 4th of July isn't exactly a miracle, but it is a time to celebrate, and just like being healthy, being in relationships, or doing anything sometimes we have to be intentional. So I decided to be intentional and grateful. I decided to change my perspective.
I was going to be grateful that we weren't rushing around to get to all of the activities for the day while out in the heat and that we had a day to relax.
We ended up being invited over to a friends house and I decided I would be grateful for that because I would be spending time with a friend and getting to have grown up talk. And it ended up being a great time.
And I decided that even though we weren't going to the huge fireworks show that I would enjoy the fireworks that we did get to see, and I think deciding to do that made it all the more enjoyable and it ended up being a good holiday. We weren't completely exhausted at the end of the day it was relaxing and fun.
But it just goes to show that I am at the beginning of a season of change. A time when I am getting ready to move out of my complete parenting years to a life where my children aren't the only things I have to do or take care of. It's a time when I start needing to find myself and what other purpose God has for me.
Personally, I'm excited about this new season! I can't wait to get further into it to see what God has in store for me. I'm looking forward to it!
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