Happy Fourth of July! Fourth of July has been a bittersweet holiday for me since my Dad died in 2003. This was his birthday and he usually had a big party that included a keg of beer, hot dogs, mango ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, games for the kids and usually ended with 1) Fireworks seen off his boat or 2) A fight, that may or may not have included somebody getting thrown in the pool and cussed at. "You and the horse you rode in on!" sticks in my memory. My mother had a couple parties after he died, but they just weren't the same and so that tradition ended . My Mom organized, cooked and made everything for those memorable parties, but my Dad was the energy (sometimes a destructive one) behind them. One thing I also used to look forward to was the Fireworks show at the Biltmore Hotel. You would get a blanket, some eats and drinks and sparklers and plop yourself down on the golf course to listen to John Philip Sousa and enjoy the show. Sadly, they no longer have that firework show, due to budget cuts and the Biltmore not wanting to foot the bill for cleanup. When I went to watch those fireworks, I never imagined they would cease operations, and yet they have. A couple years after my Dad died, my husband's family started a tradition of spending the Fourth of July weekend in Ocean Reef, due to the generosity of his Dad. This was another fun event that has bit the dust in the wake of harsh economic times. And so we are left with this. Today, I made chocolate chip cookies (my Dad's favorite) and visited his grave, leaving a bouquet in a Coors Light bottle with an American flag and a cookie. Traditions die, vacations get cancelled, things change. I think the only thing that doesn't die is love. It is patient and kind and endures.
No comments:
Post a Comment