With 4th of July events cancelled all over the country and the current political unrest and unhappiness, it seems hard to celebrate Independence Day with enthusiasm.
For many years, Child and I took part in two parades every 4th – the Tangletown Parade and the Richfield Parade. The Tangletown is a homegrown parade in which kids dress up their bikes and dogs sport their best red, white and blue bandannas in order to follow a firetruck through the neighborhood, followed by a big party at Fuller Park with games, music, face painting and a big picnic. The last few years I’ve gone up to the high school parking lot where the parade starts to see everybody in their finery and then I head home. Then later, YA and I go down to Richfield to watch their more traditional, candy-throwing parade. I got hooked on this parade when YA was in gymnastics and her team was part of the parade line-up.
No parades this year. Richfield unilaterally cancelled all the 4th of July stuff and Tangletown cancelled the parade and party, but is doing a decoration contest and neighborhood scavenger hunt. I hadn’t though about decorating (besides putting out all my flags) because I didn’t really want to put any money into it but then something I saw yesterday changed my mind. In walking Guinevere, we found a house up on the water tower hill that had outdone themselves with their chalk decorations. Their entire driveway was filled with a huge chalked American flag and then the sidewalk all long their property was covered in fireworks. Such a low-cost and low-tech way to decorate – I think I’ll get my chalks out in the morning (before it gets too hot). And I might even have enough Independence Day spirit left over to do the scavenger hunt with Guinevere on our morning walk!
How have you traditionally celebrated the 4th? What’s different this year?
