I love the whole entire world from the tiniest countries to the huge expanse that is my home country. I’ve never been anywhere in the world and thought “well, this is awful” … in fact, I typically come away thinking how lovely the people are, how much I love their foods and traditions, and how I cannot wait to return to see everyone again!
I’ve been fortunate to get to see lots of wonderful places around the world and here at home and I love my own home just as much as I love other peoples homes: I love the freedoms we have here, I love our young-ness, I love our generosity, I love the opportunities, I love how gorgeous it is here (🎶 from the redwood forests to the Gulf stream waters), I love the diversity of people, food, and culture. I love this country when we do the right thing and even when we make mistakes. My country is my home and I don’t plan to throw her away when she messes up anymore than I’d do that to an errant family member.
This story came about at a 4th of July celebration in Thomasville, GA this summer. Thomasville is a small town about 30 miles north of Tallahassee, FL where my daughter and son-in-law live. It is a lovely small town that could be found anywhere in the world. It is beautiful and very dedicated to building community for their residents and those in the surrounding areas. Of course, they go all out for their annual Independence Day celebration and it is a slice of Americana that I love!
From Wikipedia: Americana are artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Defined as materials and things concerning or characteristic of The United States of America; broadly, its culture.
There were thousands of people wearing red, white, and blue and all of them smiling and enjoying themselves. Miraculously, a huge rain storm came through just hours before the event and cooled things off nicely. There were food trucks, cotton candy and sno-cones, watermelon, face painting, and arts and crafts.
We spread our blanket, sat on the lawn at a local church, and waited for the much anticipated fireworks. While we waited I saw so many magical things happen: people smiling and laughing with one another, someone holding a door for a mom with a stroller, a church open for people to ‘come in and cool off,’ restaurants hanging ‘sold-out’ signs because so many celebrators showed up, and lots and lots of laughter out of lots and lots of people!
One of the most delightful images I have of the evening is of a group of kids – all ages, sizes, genders, colors – playing football in the street. I don’t know much about this quintessential American sport but I am pretty sure there were too many kids on each team. They don’t really have 40+ on the field at one time do they? But the beautiful thing is that it didn’t matter. All of these kids were out in the street laughing, throwing the ball, running for touchdowns through an imaginary goalpost, and delighting in summer vacation and the celebration of their independence. They did not seem to care who played just that everyone got to play. Just magical.
There is something so special to me about summertime and celebrating this wonderful country with several thousand neighbors and strangers and knowing it is happening in big and small towns from Anchorage to Key West. I love coming together as one people with a common goal and recognizing that we are far more alike than we are different or divided. Here’s to a very Happy 4th of July every year!
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.” Gandhi
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