Indivisible

Well, this post has been almost a month in the making.  The 4th of July is always a big day for our family.  The cousins come to our house and we celebrate our country's independence in a big way.  We've been doing this since the oldest of the cousins, Chloe and Margo, were just toddlers.  We do the same thing every year.  It's tradition. 

 A few days after the 4th, I sat down to go through our pictures of this year's get together.  Every time I'd sit to write a post, chronicling our 4th of July holiday, some horrible event of hate or division would be in the headlines.  I'm not sure exactly how I felt, but it just seemed insensitive to post.  At one point, I had actually finished an entire post, but after the news of another tragedy hit the headlines, I just dropped it.

Last weekend we went to watch our Blue Angels fly. This year, things were different.  There were only five.  But with people from all over the country, we sat on our beautiful beach with anticipation of seeing them in the sky again.  For the cousins, the day was much like the 4th, full of splashing and underwater explorations and just playing together in the July water.

At 2 o'clock Fat Albert flew across the beach, turning around directly in front of us and taking a deep dive as if in need of a sip of water from the Gulf.  And then, with a thunderous explosion, she sped off towards the heavens.  The response was involuntary.  On that stretch of beach, people from all ages, races, and walks of life screamed and laughed together in amazement, grabbing their neighbors.  It just seemed so starkly different than every news story I read or every picture I saw on the internet and on TV.  We stood there proud.  Proud of that girl, Captain Katie Higgins, who just roared past us for a vertical leap towards the sun.  Proud of the five who had the courage to continue with their mission after their loss.  Proud to be American.

Normally, we'd watch our Blues fly by in spectacular fashion in their Delta formation, but that would take 6.  So instead, they flew by in a formation similar to a cross.  And we all stood there grateful.  I stood there grateful.  Grateful for those who made such great sacrifices for my freedom.  Grateful for redemption.  Grateful for salvation.

In the week since the Blues, there have been more headlines focused on cruelty and division.  I know that there are issues in our world that must be addressed.  I am so aware of the ever growing sense of fear that exists due to the changing society that we live in.  But there is so much good that we ignore. We all have a choice to be divided by the words and actions of others and by the headlines of the media.  Or, we can choose to be undivided, and focused on the goodness that still exists in the world.  Division is a choice.  When my child takes off in a parking lot, I grab her.  I make the choice to reach out. I make the choice to hold her tight and draw her in.  She's mine.  I'll always make the choice for unity.

I choose to focus on the immense goodness that far outweighs the bad.  I choose to grab my country.  I'll hold her tight and draw her in.   

So today, I'm going to pick back up the post that I had dropped.

There are certain things we do every single year on the 4th of July, and starting our day at the beach with the cousins is one of them.  This year, they were in search of treasure.  With goggles and masks secured so tight that their little faces were distorted into amphibious sea creatures, they sought the most beautiful shells.  And like with everything else they do, it turned into a competition of sorts.  Who could find the most shells?  Who could find the most beautiful shell?  Chloe and Jude stayed focused on their hunt, and boy was the loot magnificent!  The others though, well, they ventured off into their own world.  If I had to guess, they became mermaids on a tropical island or something like that.

And once we start to hear complaints of jellyfish stings, or disabling sand rashes, or shark bites, we head back to the house.  Every year the kids make an American Flag cake. And a mess. Just as all American kids should, they make a good ole fashion mess. They own their project with pride and it is fun to watch!

Once they've put the cake in the oven, they have 45 minutes of bake time, which equates to 45 minutes of play time.  And off they go!  This year, those blueberries, that were meant solely for the blue portion of the American Flag cake, became objects to catapult across the sky and into one's mouth.  And again, it became a competition.  And  again, Chloe and Jude owned it.  Let's just say they have major berry handling skills!  Molly and Margo ventured off to paint their fingernails and make the difficult decisions about the pattern of the red, white and blue and which shades of blue would look best and which fingernail should have the accent color.  And Lucy, she enjoyed the blueberry show!  She became a judge of sorts.  Chloe really topped things off when she did her "launch the berry, then do a cartwheel while the berry is hurling across the sky like a meteor, then catch the blueberry meteorite with a fist pumping ending"!  I mean really!  How amazing is that?!

Do you see that blueberry?  It's descending straight for her trap!

See that look?  He's gloating about his skills.

After their 45 minute bake/play/throw-a-blueberry-then-catch-it-with-your-mouth/manicure time, it's American Flag decorating time!  And since the kitchen is such a mess from batter splatter, egg cracking and such, they decided to decorate the cake in the dining room.  And make a mess.  And lick their fingers.  It is impossible to count how many times a finger gets licked in this process of decorating a cake to become an American Flag. I tried.  It is impossible.

Once the American Flag cake is complete, we put it in the refrigerator and get ready for our All-American picnic.  This year's menu was the typical July 4th lineup: grilled hot dogs, baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, BBQ potato chips and Coca-Cola Classic.  And Molly assumed that when Pappy asked her if she wanted ketchup, that he meant on her hot dog.  Well, she should have known better!

After we eat dinner, it's time for American Flag cake and watermelon.  I always conveniently make myself very busy during that time so that I can skip the consumption of the American Flag cake without the kids noticing.  You know, that whole finger-licking-good process of decorating the stars and stripes stays fresh in my mind, making it a little tough to swallow.  After dessert, we always try to take pictures of the kids in front of the flag before sunset.  The cousins really don't appreciate this part of the day.  We just simply ask for a few minutes of sitting in front of a camera for a few pictures and they act like we are torturing them.  Seriously.  You should see it.  It is ridiculous.  

 

When we can't handle the complaining any longer about the itchy grass, or the leg cramp from having to sit in one position, or the dimple contraction from smiling too much or the shark bite, we set them free to play again.  And off they go!  This year they played Frisbee, did cartwheels, had water chugging contests and swung on the porch swing.  Like all Americans should.

This is impressive, but they've got nothing on Aunt Emily!

 With an hour until our city's fireworks show begins, we gather our blankets, sparklers, glow sticks and waters and begin our walk to Gulf Power's lawn.  This walk has evolved.  It started years ago with sleeping baby cousins being pulled in the wagon, a toddler cousin being pushed in the little red car, and the other toddler cousin being passed from one set of shoulders to the other.  Since the youngest of the cousins, Marshall and Vivian, couldn't make it this year, the little red car sat parked in the basement.  But she will stay parked there until next year, in the event they choose her as their mode of transport down to the fireworks display.  And as a family, we walk down together to join our neighbors; to celebrate our freedom and our great country.  

Daylight diminishes and the stars light the last leg of our walk.  We lay our blankets down in the same spot every year and watch the kids dance with their glow sticks and wave their sparklers, performing their pregame event.  And it is fabulous!

And right there, together with our community, we settle down in unison when the street lights dim to darkness.  The patriotic songs dance through the night and the fireworks blast off, illuminating the faces of their city.  We were all there for the same reasons.  There's goodness.  And we celebrate it.  We're one nation under God.  And we're indivisible if we so choose.