My family got up at 4:00 am to take the kids to the airport. They are visiting my parents in Oregon for a couple of weeks, and, would you call me a terrible mother if I said I barely kicked them to the curb before my husband and I hustled back home?! If so, that's cool.....I only get away from my kids one time a year, and the older they get, the more of a break it becomes!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "Give me diapers anyday--Teenagers are far more work than potty training!!"
The fact that they left on the 4th of July gives a whole new meaning to Independence Day for me this year!! Now, you might think we'd be out doing something exciting with our free time, but we have actually chosen to spend a quiet day at home, doing absolutely nothing!
We will climb up on the roof later on to watch the firework display that is put on by Luke Air Force Base, which is right across the street. How appropriate to be celebrating Independence Day watching the show put on by the men and women in this country who protect our freedoms?!
I am honored to be able to watch these fighter jets every day from my home.
I decided to post a few notable quotes and poems about Independence Day that I appreciate. I hope you like them too. As you are out watching the fireworks and BBQ'ing with family and friends, please take a moment to remember the meaning of this day!
"There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream." ~~ Archibald MacLeish
"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" ~~ Thomas Jefferson
"Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it." ~~ Mark Twain
"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." ~~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~~ Benjamin Franklin
and my personal favorite:
"Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it."
~~ Mark Twain
I'll end this post with a poem I found that I think is poignant and beautiful, yet simple:
The American Boy
By Author Unknown
SON:
Father, look up, and see that flag!
How gracefully it flies!
Those pretty stripes, they seem to be
A rainbow in the skies.
Father, look up, and see that flag!
How gracefully it flies!
Those pretty stripes, they seem to be
A rainbow in the skies.
FATHER:
It is your country's flag, my boy,
And proudly drinks the light,
O'er ocean's wave, in foreign climes,
A symbol of our might.
It is your country's flag, my boy,
And proudly drinks the light,
O'er ocean's wave, in foreign climes,
A symbol of our might.
SON:
Father, what fearful noise is that,
Now thundering in the clouds?
Why do they, cheering, wave their hat,
And rush along in crowds?
Father, what fearful noise is that,
Now thundering in the clouds?
Why do they, cheering, wave their hat,
And rush along in crowds?
FATHER:
It is the voice of cannonry,
The glad shouts of the free;
This is a day of memory,
'Tis FREEDOM'S JUBILEE!
It is the voice of cannonry,
The glad shouts of the free;
This is a day of memory,
'Tis FREEDOM'S JUBILEE!
SON:
I wish that I was now a man,
I'd free my country too,
And cheer as loudly as the rest;
But, father, why don't you?
I wish that I was now a man,
I'd free my country too,
And cheer as loudly as the rest;
But, father, why don't you?
FATHER:
I'm getting old and weak; but still
My heart is big with joy;
I've witnessed many a day like this,
Shout you aloud, my boy!
I'm getting old and weak; but still
My heart is big with joy;
I've witnessed many a day like this,
Shout you aloud, my boy!
SON:
HURRAH, FOR FREEDOM'S JUBILEE,
God bless our native land!
And may I live to hold the boon
Of freedom in my hand.
HURRAH, FOR FREEDOM'S JUBILEE,
God bless our native land!
And may I live to hold the boon
Of freedom in my hand.
FATHER:
Well done, my boy, grow up, and love
The land that gave you birth,—
A land where Freedom loves to dwell,—
A paradise on earth.
Well done, my boy, grow up, and love
The land that gave you birth,—
A land where Freedom loves to dwell,—
A paradise on earth.
