Star-Spangled!

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: Share your favorite 4th of July memories.

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:

Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

It’s no surprise that 4th of July (a.k.a. Independence Day) is one of my favorite holidays. Oddly enough, I don’t even have bad associations with it, considering it is also the anniversary of Mama Mollie’s passing. I guess I see it as her being independent of the shell of her former self (and all her suffering).

I have a lot of fun 4th of July memories. When I was a kid, my family and I would go to carnivals and see fireworks with family friends of ours. We always had a good time. We’d sit on a blanket in a big field and eat watermelon while watching colors light up the sky. The kids (including myself) would get to play with sparklers too. It was fun to draw lines in the air with the sparklers while the flame was still going.

When I was in college, there was one 4th of July (1996) I spent with two close girl friends from college and a guy friend from “Rocky Horror.” We went to Max and Erma’s and then drove over to Big Bear Lake in Vernon Hills to watch the fireworks. We had a fun time talking and laughing together. I also recall screaming in a rather embarrassing way when we passed by Zanie’s and I saw a sign that Jake Johannsen was coming back to perform there. (He was a favorite comedian of mine at the time.) There was a restaurant over there called Tasty Thai and we joked that it was Tasty “thigh.”

My first 4th of July while living in my condo (2000) was fun too. “Will” came over and we went swimming all afternoon. Later, we had dinner at my parents’ house and went to see the fireworks there. We had this joke about me asking my mom in a “Pat” (from SNL) voice about when the fireworks were going to start. The following year (2001), I went to the Taste of Chicago with some girl friends I hung out with all the time. Then I met up with another friend for dinner (back at the Taste) and we saw “Mamma Mia!” together. (My second time in one week seeing it.) I think “Jack” was there, along with another gay guy friend (at the time). We were all dancing to the songs at the end. The bad thing about that night was losing my wallet, but I had such a fun time that day.

When my husband and I started dating, we spent every 4th of July at my parents’ house. They would barbecue or bring in food and have a lot of guests over. We’d all go to fireworks together, as well. The fireworks have always been amazing and they’re timed to music. In the past, they did them all to Disney songs. Now there’s a strange variety. Sometimes good bands from the 90’s came to the park to put on concerts. They had Gin Blossoms and Smash Mouth in previous years. One time, I won a “Mamma Mia!” CD (oddly enough) in a Karaoke contest.

My mom even hosted the 4th of July party when my grandma died, as she wanted a distraction and she knew her mom would have wanted her to celebrate anyway. After we moved away, we still came back for 4th of July and the parties got even bigger. This is the first summer we’re spending 4th of July at our own home. It will be different for us. I’ll miss seeing the usual people who show up at my parents’ house for the holiday. However, we’ll play the day by ear and find something fun to do with the kids. Even so, I hope it will work out for us to come back to Chicago for the 4th next year and the years that follow...