It's July

Wow, the year is flying by. It's July which means we've completed half of 2010. For some reason, I always stop and evaluate the year on the 4th of July. When the kids were still living at home, I would sit in the parking lot at Sweet Tomatoes on Bell Rd waiting for the Peoria Stadium fireworks display to begin and think about what had transpired that year and what was yet to come. When is the first day of school? When does early morning band practice start for JD? Who needs shots for the upcoming school year? How much will I have to spend on school supplies this year?

I also used that time to imagine what will it look like next year when everyone's a year older? Will we still all be together watching fireworks or will some of them be off to other events? What will Dan & I do when they're all grown?

As you've already figured out, I'm usually living in the future. The positive thing about that is that I'm usually prepared for whatever. The negative is that I can (and sometimes do) miss out on the pleasure of the here and now.

This year we're having family over for a BBQ. We can see the fireworks from the Surprise Stadium from our backyard. Some of the kids will be here, some won't. Some extended family members will attend, others are forging their own Independence Day traditions.

No matter what, there will be constants that connect me to the 4th of July(s) of years past. It will be hot, not extremely hot this year, but still plenty warm. I will still sit in the dark awaiting the fireworks and take a few moments to evaluate January - June 2010, and then  look ahead to the rest of the year. I will wonder what will it look like next year when everyone's a year older? Then I'll turn my attention to the pleasure of the here and now.