The most exciting thing about our Independence Day was the scare of a nosy neighbor writing down our address, presumably to report our setting off of illegal aerial fireworks. No cops showed up at our door, so we are declaring our quiet holiday a success. And we have a lot of aerials that we opted not to light after said neighbor drove by…Maybe by New Years Eve they will be in a more jovial mood?

The day after we got back from Utah we plowed headfirst (notice the mixed idioms? It’s because we didn’t just jump headfirst or plow ahead. We did both. Simultaneously) into the epic remodel of our upstairs. I also needed to start preparing for Girls Camp. Needless to say there was not much space in my brain left for The 4th of July. I didn’t even put up our customary decorations or plan fun food. I was ready for kind of an emotionally disappointing holiday, if I’m honest.

It genuinely didn’t let me down at all. I wasn’t sure how this first real holiday sans The Boy would feel. It felt surprisingly normal. Painting rooms felt good, the food was really tasty, and our pool hadn’t turned green yet so my fish were happy. Neil managed our fireworks (picked up on the way home in a tent in Kansas) brilliantly as usual and I loved the quiet simpleness of it all. I love this country of mine and am grateful that we all pause for a second to at least think of all the things U.S.A means.