Fields, Flags, Fireworks, and Freedom

"Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain..."

I love this land. It's so beautiful. (Ok, to be fair, that last statement does extend to everywhere on the planet. I have yet to find a piece of earth that I'm like, "Meh, it's ok." It's all part of a giant age-old story. Part of the reason I studied geology. ;) ) However, like the field pictured here, it's made more beautiful because it's part of the USA--part of my homeland--and I love it. I'm so blessed to be able to live in this great country.

Sure, it has its ups and downs, but what doesn't? If you look at the history, and all that our country has been through, it's pretty amazing. That's why I love the flag, and what it represents.

A few years ago I went to the Star-Spangled Spectacular in Baltimore, which was a huge celebration for the 200th anniversary of the National Anthem. The poem was inspired by seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry after a night of British attacks. At the time there were only 15 stars and stripes (granted there were 18 states at the time), but through the flag you can see the growth and history of the nation.

The flag doesn't only represent the nation as a whole, but also her individuals. The soldiers that have died fighting for the freedoms they believed in, the athletes that compete on a world stage, the shop owners that are proud to be part of something, and the farmers that rely on the land. The flag is a symbol of unity. 50 states united in the cause of freedom that began as 13 colonies in a new world.

My sister has a special flag displayed in her yard that they sponsored for a healing field last September. It was on the other side of that field pictured above, actually. The town had flags to remember those individuals that died in the September 11th attacks. Her friend's mom was in one of the trade centers, on the 103rd floor, and didn't make it out. On the pole of each of the flags was a little bio about the person it represented.

The flag represents much more than just a country on a map.

July always has to have fireworks. One of my favorite parts of the 4th of July is the fireworks. So many great memories celebrating with them. Last night we set off a couple, and watched a couple of shows courtesy of neighbors somewhere setting off mortars. Haha, Rudy--didn't matter where we paused to watch it. As soon as we paused, he plopped himself down, stretched out, and made himself comfy to watch the show.

Really though, the best part of the holiday, and why I have so many great memories of the 4th of July is because it's spent with family and friends. Everyone pauses to get together and celebrate. It doesn't get much better than that.

I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy. There are big things and little things that we don't have to think too hard about because they just are--we are free to choose. We can decide to take days off work, how many kids (or dogs/cats, as the case may be) to have, what we eat, wear, watch, or read. We can decide where we want to go to church, we can participate in the government...lots of things that we can do that we don't even think too much about. It is just a fact of life. For us. We live in a country that allows us these freedoms.

Sure, the country has its ups and downs, but those Founding Fathers were truly inspired when they set out to do what they did so many years ago. In the centuries since, I am proud of the history we have, and the growth you can see from it.


Happy Independence Day (weekend)! :)

Random: After Oley tried to set me up (as Elsa) with all of the superheroes, Rudy wanted to play with me. Friday and Saturday he would bring me a superhero to play with. He would change between Iron Man, Thor...or he would dress up as Batman. He decided though that Captain America was mine. Haha, whenever I tried to switch, he'd scrunch up his nose and say, "No Rinny, you get Captain America. Captain is yours!" The cutest though, he brought me Captain America while I was cutting fruit, and didn't really have time to play. I said, "Oh, great! He can be my sidekick!" so I stuck one of his legs in my pocket and had the other one kicking out--sidekick, get it? ;)--and Rudy thought it was so cool, he went to stick Thor's foot in his pocket--Thor's foot was about the size of his little pockets--but couldn't figure out how to make it stay. Leks finally helped him out by putting his leg in his waistband and he looked up and said, "Thor's my sidekick!" Haha, he's so cute. :)