I am sitting here thinking about 4th of July celebrations gone by..... The ones where we dressed our boys in red white and blue, with their little hats on sitting in downtown Mount Shasta watching the 4th of July parade go by. When our boys were small we would go up to Mt. Shasta and "camp" out at our dear friends grandmother's house. We would set up a tent in the yard and actually sleep out there but then had the real " facilities" that we needed with two small children. Grandma Inie would always have root beer floats out on her front porch every afternoon the kids.... oh who am I fooling I loved that . The grown ups would sit on the front porch and have our root beer floats and watch our children playing in the front yard. Sweet memories....
As the boys got older we began to rent a beach house up on Bandon Oregon. To this day I think it was the boys favorite place to be. We could access the beach from a trail out the front door, watch the fireworks outside or if was too cold we could watch them from the house, it had wonderful floor to ceiling windows. We had some incredible family times there with our family and friends who would come with us. Bandon is a small fishing village and has a great Old town area where every year they too would have a 4th of July parade, and we would sit on the edge of the sidewalk and watch as people of all ages , walked, rode their bikes, rode in floats down the small short street with all of us spectators clapping as each one came by. Oh how I loved those times... now our "boys" are all grown up and making lives of their own. My wife and I look forward to seeing where their lives take them but every once in a while I find myself looking back and just for a moment wishing time had stood still on that small street in Bandon, or Mt. Shasta and that my "boys" were still that small sitting there with us watching that parade, asking all of those thousands of questions..... Sweet Memories
So as you plan your 4th of July celebration this year savor every moment, because those moments all too soon pass by and you wonder where the time went. Catch a fire fly, shoot of some fireworks, roast that marshmallow, or have a root beer float, but do all of this with those whom you love and remember that these times are what memories are made of......
Blessings to you Curtis and Sherrie
Enjoyed reading your post, Curtis. Very good reminder about what's really important.
ReplyDeleteWith each passing year, I find that I become more and more sentimental. I remember times from when I was just a kid, and I ruminate over the years when my two sons were growing up, and I find myself teary eyed and hoping no one notices. I suspect it's mostly from getting older, where it seems us guys tend to start letting out all those sappy feelings we're used to holding in. I think that's true for me, anyway, especially if my dad is any indication of what can happen to a guy as he gets older. Seems he tears up at just about anything these days :-)
I often think back to when my boys were younger, and I, too, find myself wishing it were possible to go back in time, even if it were just to give them a big hug and kiss, and tell them once again how much I love them.
Wow, made me cry. Time's march seems unduly cruel lately, what with gravity and all.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember Hillary and Noah selling cherries to folks walking by off of the garbage can lid? I hope you know that I wouldn't have been able to do so many fun things with Hillary without you and Sherrie letting us tag along. I am so grateful for all of those times.