Does it every strike you strange that we wish each other "Happy Fourth of July"? If I were to say that to someone in New Zealand or Canada, Russia or France, they might think I was strange ... well, until they realized I was an American. We've appropriated a day out of the year and made it completely ours. You don't hear too many people say Happy Independence Day! And is it weird that on July 3rd, we still say "Happy Fourth of July?" Just thinking ...
Max and I only do laundry once a week. We have built a wardrobe that will function for an entire week. It's an awesome thing. Except for the fact that I'm a creature of habit. If we choose to do laundry on a day other than our regular day (which lately has been Mondays since I head to the cabin on Tuesdays) it screws up all of my wardrobe planning. I might need to buy a few more articles so that I can wrap around a week rather than just get by. We did laundry today ... I'm going to be a mess by Friday, I'm sure of it!
I was on the interstate today, coming home to Omaha. I had to make a stop at a rest area and it was filled with strange people. Now, in a normal week, a rest area stop might yield one or two oddballs ... maybe! But, not on a holiday weekend, right smack dab in the middle of vacation season. Strange people who spend their lives huddling in a cubicle have been released into the world and they all have to go to the bathroom. They pull into a rest area, car doors open and huge numbers of children, dogs, stuff, exhausted drivers and annoyed navigators explode onto the pavement. Picnics, mad dashes to the bathroom, children playing with the water, the hand dryers, peering under stalls, odd looking men who should never wear fanny packs, grand sunglasses on a granny. It's all quite wonderful and weird. I wonder what truck drivers must think about the extra craziness on the highways as they fight minivans and mobile homes for the last open space to duck in and out of traffic.
I read THIS article on KETV news today. The headline reads, "Free Concert Leaves Huge Mess Behind," referring to 80,000 people in Memorial Park in Omaha that gathered to hear Kansas, Foreigner and Styx last night. A negative headline, right? It sure was and they were able to find people to complain about the mess. But, towards the end of the story, they also printed a quote from a scout leader who was training his troop to be positive about helping others. His scouts felt great about cleaning up after 80,000 people and have set a new goal ... to clean up after a Memorial Stadium crowd sometime. Now, that's a guy who looked beyond the mess to the completion of a goal. I'm so proud of him.
I spent a little bit of time with my cousin, Cathy and Uncle Ralph today in Des Moines. She gave me this picture:
December 30, 1969. Good heavens, I was only ten years old. Please stop doing the math in your head.
I know that you need a quick little pick-me-up some mornings. Subscribe to this morning devotional! It's a beautiful photograph, a beautiful verse and a few short sentences of encouragement. God said "Good Morning".
Alright, I'm going to shut my brain down completely at this point and hope that tomorrow you have a wonderful Independence Day celebration. It is a great day to celebrate!
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