The 4th of July was all about the fireworks for me growing up.  

I remember all the colors, the screeches and pops of the smaller fireworks, the thud and boom of the bigger ones, their light trailing across the sky before fading into faint smoke trails. It was like big, beautiful, collective dream. It brought us all together – friends and family and strangers alike – under one sky, in awe. I loved it.

When my husband Wally and I were raising our young children, we didn’t have a lot of birth family around, so there weren’t any big family gatherings for us on the 4th. However when we moved to Omaha in 1973 we were able to find families with whom we became friends. Our children were similar ages, we got along really well, and we were all in major kid/young family life stages. I’m pretty sure most parents out there know the exquisite kind of chaos I’m talking about.  

Over the years, this became our family.

And our extended family. The family we chose, that we made. We took turns hosting family cookouts, potluck barbecues, and Fourth of July celebrations. The holiday took on a new but familiar cadence: kids with sparklers, lively conversations, grilling on the BBQ, and watching fireworks together.

One of my favorite July 4ths came when I traveled to Chicago with our oldest daughter, Katie. She and her friend were competing for a national award from a high school organization, Future Business Leaders of America. We were staying in a hotel across from a park on Lake Michigan and from our balcony that evening we heard the Chicago Symphony was playing the 1812 Overture while the fireworks danced over the lake. It was spectacular.

As I thought about the reason we were there – an incredible educational opportunity for my daughter – I felt incredibly proud and overwhelmed by how blessed I was to be in this country.

Today, there’s much to think about. I think about the risk the writers of the Declaration of Independence accepted. I think about how immense their dream was and how amazing their ability to inspire the whole country to risk it all.

I hope we understand how important it is that we educate all our citizens to be an active part of a country that started as a beautiful and wild dream. A country that is built on the principles of justice, equality, and freedom for all. As I watch the fireworks tonight, in that brief period of collective awe, I will be thinking about how we can all walk a path together that lives up to the declaration written on that July 4^th long ago. 

*Barbara’s thoughts as written by Kate based on weekly (fascinating) conversations.

*Photo Cred: Jim DeVleeschouwer, Jr