Well it's not the same, obviously. There are no camp chairs lining the streets three days before. There are no parades, no carnivals, no flags flying, no banners waving. There are no picnics or fairs. There are no fireworks booming in the dark sky. There is no excitement in the air. It's the 4th of July in Australia. A country with a direct link to England- the people we kicked out of our land. I wouldn't expect them to have any awareness about this day. But it's still hard to be here. It's hard to let it pass by without a glimmer of celebration. Not even one bit of evidence that this day is special. I am much more patriotic than I thought. Maybe that is what happens when you leave your own country. It's like 'you don't know what you had until it's gone' kinda thing. America, I miss you.
I will do my best, of course, to recognize the day. I will tell my kids. We'll put out the flag and light sparklers (at least I can get those over here!) We had a picnic on Saturday with our family. I know it means nothing to them. Why would it? They appeased me. They humored me. They supported me. I appreciate that. But I will miss my own family on the 4th. I will miss 7 layer dip, BBQ'd chicken and hamburgers, Spinach dip in the bread bowl, Gooey Chex mix and all the other yummy foods we normally have. I will miss playing cards and watching the kids play in the water. I will miss all the cars on the roads at night, trying to get to a park or a hill to see the fireworks in the sky. I will miss the smell of summer. I will miss the feeling. The feeling of being home.
The beach
Austin plays with cousins James and Will
Ashley hangs out in her stroller
Kids eat picnic lunch with gorgeous ocean in background (L-R) Fyn, James, Will, Austin, Courtney
Kate, Mum and Ashley
Jared and Olivia eating some cake (She's ready for a nap)
Kate and Chelsea
Me and Ashley
4 comments:
We will miss having you guys with us. Hopefully it will be a good time. We are doing it at our house this year.
You have no idea how weird it is not having your family at the family gatherings. The feeling that someone is missing is palpable and i hate that. I am so glad you are celebrating the fourth even though you are not in american. A great tradition for you to keep up for your children. Weird to think they may never remember living in the USA.
We'll miss you.
Love seeing the photos.
We will definitely miss having you guys with us tomorrow as we celebrate the 4th, but I'm so glad you did something to celebrate Down Under.
The pictures are darling. Whitney was just looking at them with me and said, "Robyn is very, very, very thin!" I said I want to eat Ashley up and she decided she'd like to do that too.
We'll be thinking about you.
I'm sure that your kids will know that the 4th is a special day just by your example and by what you teach them. And by the way, that food looked amazing! What could be more American than apple pie, right? And I bet your in-laws were more than happy to have a family get-together for you because they love you. But I do know what you mean. I often feel "grancay" because I know my in-laws humor me and my needs sometimes. But that is a big part of what family is all about, right?
I agree about feeling more patriotic when you're out of the country. You never know quite how much you love your country until you're not in it anymore...
I LOVE the photos of Ashley and you/Ashley. Oh, those eyes! That complexion! What a darling.
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