4th Of July

July 4th - Being done delivering a Bounce House and Slide is a very good feeling.  Until you have set up a 350 lb. Bounce House and a 550 lb. Slide, you have no idea!!  We delivered one for a neighborhood party in Fort Worth for the 4th of July, and as we got close to our location, we were in awe as we entered into such a quaint, little housing area.  Tall, well pruned, older trees cast a cool shade over the already 87 degree morning.  It was only 7:50 am, but it was gonna be a hot one!  An old fashioned, pushcart ice cream wagon rested against the curb, coolers sat nearby overflowing with ice and bottles of water, and a table nearby that was stacked high with about 20 boxes of donuts had my girls scampering about with giddiness.

After setting up the Bounce House and Slide, we locked our car and walked to the corner. Families were already sitting and waiting for their annual neighborhood Fourth of July Parade to begin and we decided to join and watch the parade too.  Laughing, we watched the crowds walk past with their family pets dressed up in red, white and blue on creative, colorful leashes.  We pointed out our favorite pooches to each other and waited with the others for the parade.

Sitting there with my husband and two girls, I felt a strange deja vue.  The park surrounding this neighborhood reminded me of a park in Milford, CT., where my younger sister lives.  I half expected to turn my head to the right and see the all familiar cascading waterfall complete with turning waterwheel.

Later that night, sitting on the steps of our back porch, my husband and I watched the girls write their names in the darkness with gold, sizzling sparklers.  Overhead, fireworks exploded in the distance.  All around us was the sounds of the 4th of July.  Some may say it was nothing too spectacular, yet for us it was true paradise.  Sometimes it's just the little things in life that mean so very much and leave the biggest memories.