The Fourth.

So I've been hemming & hawing all weekend; I was supposed to be in New York this Independance Day as the Husbo is there working and has the actual holiday off. We all know how I love NY and how I love my husband...what a nice combination, right? Wrong. With all the crazy (but amazing) things happening in our lives right now we didn't even think about buying a plane ticket for me until late last week. In 2 hours the ticket went from being affordable and a nonstop flight ($230) to being ridiculous and multiple stops ($410). So I stayed home. Money wise, probably for the best.

My weekend has been quiet and pretty solitary. Yesterday I slept in and ran a few errands but mostly hung out at home piddling about the house, garden and the soon to be new porch. Today was much of the same.

Tonight I rode my bicycle down to the Minneapolis riverfront to watch The Fireworks. This is where I have watched the 4th of July fireworks most of my life. I locked my bike up and found my aunt Jill, Cousin Liam and friend Ellen. We oohed and aaahed at all the sparklies in the sky and all the while I noted how lucky I am to live in a great city with an amazing river (the mighty Mississippi) running through it that these beautiful fireworks were reflected upon on such a lovely evening.

There was a little girl nearby who was thoroughly impressed with every single display. There were lots of "WOW!!!!", "HOLY MOLY!!!" and such. It was nice. Every fireworks display needs that kind of exciting voice nearby reminding you just how exciting it is. What every fireworks display does not need however is a man exclaiming "USA!!" with every boom. This was also present this evening. While I appreciated his enthusiasm, I think next year I will appreciate even more not sitting near him or anyone like him while I oooh & aaah.

It is an ideal summer night in Minneapolis for me. Hot, humid, sticky. There seems to be very little breeze as I sit on our patio writing this...and everyone on my block seems to be in bed. Everything is a little bit damp and the air has a certain smell that can only be found in July and August. As I rode home tonight I heard the hums from air conditioners and people laughing as they wound down their holiday barbecues. I was headed straight home from fireworks after a pit stop at The Soap Factory's Ten Second Film fest. My ride was going too fast. So I turned to ride by a friend's house to see if she was home. She wasn't, so I decided to ride to her favorite watering hole. She wasn't there either. So I rode to my favorite watering hole to have one and found a familiar face bartending and an even more familiar face spinning 45s. What a lucky break.

I left after one beer and entertained myself through my ride home with a game I play every single holiday: "One year ago I was here doing this, two years ago..." and so on. Then I find comfort in the fact that every person I know who lives in The U.S. is likely to have seen fireworks in some capacity this evening, or at the very least talked about them. As I imagined what my friends and comrades all around were up to this evening I found myself at the foot of my garage. The night was coming to a close.

One more Independence Day under my belt & it was a good one.

xoxx