I love birthday parties. They commemorate another year around the sun for those of us able to enjoy the ride.
Moreover, I also enjoy national parties, such as the one the USA is celebrating today as it turns 247 years young. Yes, we’re still a young nation, given the comparative ages of many nations with which we share this good planet Earth. I have had the pleasure of visiting countries in Asia and Europe, where they count their ages in millennia, not mere years.
This Fourth of July will be a quiet one for my family and me. We are still mending our shattered hearts. My wife left us in February after a brief, but ferocious, fight with cancer. My sons are hurting, as is my daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
I will return eventually to celebrating our national birthday. Just not this year.
The Fourth of July is intended to celebrate a great nation. It has always been great, even with its occasional dents and dings and, yes some hideous policies that have been sent to the crapper.
I look forward to enjoying the birthday party once again.