Would you believe my daughter has started counting down the days until the Fourth of July?
This has been going on for a few weeks now. Several times daily she tells me how many days are left before we go away on vacation.
Fourth of July and Thanksgiving are two holidays she looks forward too even more than the others. The reason is simple; we’re around a lot of family. A very large family… My mother has 16 brothers and sisters, and most of them pack up and make the trek to South Carolina.
Why South Carolina? Well that’s where they were raised, with the exception of one, all the children (all right so they aren’t children anymore) have moved to other states. It’s still a familiar spot, time to gather around the now small house and talk about old times, catch up with one another, speculate and at times debate current events, and chat about future endeavors too.
I really enjoy chatting with many of the family members. I only get to see twice yearly, sure we catchup with each other via phone and email but, it’s not the same, yah know? Hanging out in South Carolina is a welcome change and for me it’s a time for me to relax a bit.
Things move slowly in that part of South Carolina, real slow… It’s a time to soak up the good ole sun-baked lazy days of summer vibrations. With a touch of crazy tossed in — come on now we all have at least one crazy family member, right? Even with the token crazy, I still enjoy the family bonding and good natured ribbing too. It’s also a great time to remember how fortunate I am and to celebrate life.
For my daughter it’s a time to hang out with a lot of cousins, dare one another to do off the wall things before the grown folks catch on (yeah nice try kids, that never works) and basically play games, be silly, and just be a kid.
Who can forget the fireworks? Our family is really into that; Big fireworks, little fireworks, sparkly things, rockets, you name it we’ve got it. We set of tons of our own fireworks yearly. Who needs to go see a show, when we provide our own?
I guess I can tolerate the daily countdown. I have to admit it’s hard not getting caught up in the whirlwind of excitement my daughter is generating. We have 11 days to go, let the countdown continue…
Europe: The Final Countdown
Lyrics: The Final Countdown
Songwriters: Tempest, Joey
We’re leaving together
But still it’s farewell
And maybe we’ll come back
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?
It’s the final countdown
The final countdown
Ohh
We’re heading for Venus and still we stand tall
‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us and welcome us all, yea
With so many light years to go and things to be found
(To be found)
I’m sure that we’ll all miss her so
It’s the final countdown
The final countdown
The final countdown
(The final countdown)
Ohh ho ohh
The final countdown, oh ho
It’s the final countdown
The final countdown
The final countdown
(The final countdown)
Ohh
It’s the final countdown
We’re leaving together
The final countdown
We’ll all miss her so
It’s the final countdown
(The final countdown)
Ohh, it’s the final countdown
Yea
Technorati Tags:
Family, Independence Day, Fourth of July
Hehe, sounds like she is getting very excited! I hear Cali is nice, my brother lived there and still misses it. Sounds like you guys have a really nice family and I bet you have such a wonderful time when you go. I use to love family get-togethers when I was little.
Ah the fireworks, I miss my grandfather (God rest his soul) and father (who lives in another country now) lighting those for us as we squealed with glee at the sounds at lights.
Hope you guys have a very safe and fantastic trip!
@kaozz – LOL, yeah it’s a lot of fun, she just reminded me we have nine more days before we go (as if I’d forget with her constant updates.) 🙂
Fireworks lit by family/friends, make the holiday even more special for myself.
Thanks, I’m hoping we have a safe trip too. part of our tradition, is a doing the road trip, so I’m hoping those 8+ hours will fly by! 😉