4 Things I enjoyed on the 4th of July

FOOD

What's better than good food? 

I guess you could say there are a lot of things that are better but lets just agree that good food is somewhere at the top of the 'best things in life' list.

And when good food is pretty, well, it's just that much better.

Good ol' Berry Pie

Fruit Salad of Champions

My pride and joy. These were so easy!

FRIENDS
Do you know what you get when you add good food with good friends?
The best kind of day.
Here is Kai and his buddy Jacob.
Watching them together makes my heart melt like butter.

FAMILY
I am the happiest when I spend days filled with the laughter, joy and happiness of these two men.
There is nothing better.

Parking Lot Fireworks

In these bodies we will live,
In these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your LOVE,
You invest your life.
- Mumford and Sons

Amen to that.


FREEDOM
You may say I am cliche' for using this but let's get serious for a minute.
This holiday is to celebrate the freedom to BE.
There are thousands of people in places all around the world fighting to protect that freedom.
Whether or not you support the military, it is the truth and it is real.
I never understood the military lifestyle nor did I understand the pride that comes with it but that all changed when that lifestyle I found so hard to relate to and the pride I could never fully understand, became my reality.
The truth is, my husband will probably be deployed in the near future.
The truth is I will have to say goodbye to him and watch him go to war.
The truth is there are families who are doing that right now.
It is not a video game, it is real life.
So while I enjoyed my berry pie and fireworks, I kept the reality of the sacrifices made by countless numbers of families close to my heart.

That Kind of Friend

I have this friend. She is pretty wonderful.
We met at summer camp 11 years ago. The funny thing is, the morning my parents dropped me off my very first day of camp, my mom said these very words, "Have the best time. Who knows, you may end up meeting a friend here that you will have for the rest of your life."
Did she hit the nail on the head or what?
I was trying to think of just one word that could describe my friend for a project I'm working on that is, at the moment, top secret. :-)

I mean, how do you chose just one word to describe a friendship that has stood the test of time? Or someone who has been there every step of the way, even when she has had to carry you a few miles until you were able to walk on your own again? The person who knows you far better than you know yourself. The person who ALWAYS takes your side, no matter the situation. Or ever so tactfully, helps you to see the things that you are either too blind to see for yourself, or worse the things you see but pretend not to notice. The person you were college roommates with, even in the most literal definition of the word. I'm talking same room, same bed, same CLOSET! Yeah, that's love. The person you traveled to the other side of the world with. The person who threw their ski pole off a lift to make you feel better when your ski fell off and you felt embarrassed. The person who held your hair back when you had a wee bit too much to drink. The person who was feeding you the alcohol that got you to that point. The person who told you, you still looked great when you broke your nose with your knee doing backflips off the bed. The person you laugh until you pee your pants with, the person you go to first when something good, bad, ugly, or just plain boring happens. The person who got you kicked out of the bar on your 21st birthday. The person who cried because she felt so bad for getting you kicked out of the bar that night. The person who made you jump out of a plane to celebrate her birthday. The person who was there when you lost your stepfather to cancer. The person who cried when she listened to old tapes of you and your mom singing and talking when you were a little girl. The person who talked you into learning to jump out of a plane by yourself. The person who was there when you met your future husband, then took the credit and told you it was all because she made you jump out of a plane for her birthday that one time. The person who is totally to thank for meeting your husband. The person who stood right next to you when you married the love of your life. The only person you wanted to call and talk to when you were on your honeymoon. The first person you told when you found out you were expecting a baby. The person who was there when you and your husband welcomed your son into the world. The person who you call on the phone to watch tv together. The person who loves your son like he was her own. The person who understands all of your strange quirks and knows everything there is to know about you and still loves you. The person who finds your humor funny when the 20 other people in the room don't. The person who the first day you met her, came up to you and told you, "I'm with you". The person who kept her words from so long ago and has been with you every step of the way.

The only word I can think of when describing a friend like that is well, family.
Not friend, family.