DocAndersen
July 4th is an interesting holiday. First, that was not the day the actual declaration of Independence was signed. It is more the day it was announced. It is a bittersweet day for our family. My father loved the 4th of July as my mother does. They hosted for many years a party at their house on the 4th. We would wander to view the Bloomington Parade at my sister’s office. It was near the corner of Walnut Street and 10th street. We set up there for some years. The pictures today are from 2004. It seems funny now, to see the kids all so small. One of them is now married. One of them is getting married in September 2019. One of them now lives in Seattle.
Then, looking back, we had a group of really cool kids. What is now, is a collection of really cool adults. Preparing to start their lives. The youngest now in college. It seems different now when you consider what was and what is. Today is the 3rd of July I am reflecting on the many 4th of July parades I have seen. I went to one once in Milwaukee Wisconsin with my grandparents, and one in Madison Wisconsin. I’ve been to the Chicago Illinois 4th of July parade. But the ones that come to mind, the ones that remember are those when we were all together in Bloomington Indiana. As a child, you artifice the parades. You wait and hold your breath for the parade.
As an adult, you get to watch the children, your children as they anticipate the way you did all those years before. Sitting on a chair, watching things go by was always amazing. Watching the kids scramble to get candy was also hilarious. In part, because they always shared. If one child didn’t get any candy, the others always handed that child one of theirs. There was a closeness in that group that was always fun to watch. My sisters had three kids, and we had three kids there, so it was an even group of 6. They were always having fun. The 4th was a magical time then, one that is lost to the vagaries of history. Revisionism makes those the happiness times, They aren’t always the happiest times, just the times we remember.
Just so you know, when you comment like this sometimes, I wonder if you mean the comment.
More special memories to keep close Doc. I know all too well about the bittersweet feelings around holidays.
They can be both wondrous and happy, as well as sad and dark.
Great photos make great memories
Thanks! I love my collection of old pictures.