Fireworks!

"And the rockets red glare.

The bombs bursting in air."

- The Star Spangled Banner

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays next to Christmas and Thanksgiving. I've spent many fabulous Fourths at Lakeside, Kiwanis and in Baltimore. Yesterday, I started a new tradition.

I helped set fireworks up for Zambelli! Dennis is a pyrotech, so he asked if I could help also. I spent hours in the hot sun unloading tubes from a truck and then carefully placing the bombs in each tube.

Due to my limited firework skills, my duties ended there. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the picnic pavilion waiting out the rain. 

I have no desire to shoot because I'm scared of getting hurt.  And another selfish reason...I don't want to give up actually watching the fireworks.

I will admit there is something special about watching a fireworks display knowing that you touched each of those bombs and that now they were being fired by your fiancé and future brother-in-law.

I enjoyed every colorful expulsion despite the rain, smoke, ash and falling debris. It was like my own private fireworks display.

At the end of the show, after everything cooled down, we had to break down the tube, load up the truck and pick up the trash. It was all worth it thinking about the awesome display and cheers at the end.

Today, I'm exhausted, a little burned (I ran out of sunscreen that 's how much I had on and I still burned) and incredibly sore from all the lifting but it was worth every moment!

It was another wonderful holiday! Happy Fourth of July! God Bless America!

Happy Grandparents Day!

If I could offer one piece of advice today on Grandparents Day, tell your grandparents you love them.  Hug them.  Call them.  Spend time with them even if its going to their house for lunch.  Trust me they'll appreciate it and you'll be happy you did because when they are gone it leaves an awful hole in your heart.  Nothing can replace the love of a grandparent.  So, if you are lucky enough to still have your grandparents, treasure them.

I was blessed to have three amazing grandparents and I'd like to think that the fourth, my paternal grandfather, would have also held a special place in my heart if he would have lived to meet his grandchildren.  And as the first granddaughter on both sides, I also held a special place in their hearts.

I had such wonderful relationships with my grandparents.

My grandpa taught me how to fish.  He taught me how to play tennis.  He paid for me to learn to sail.  Together we made a dollhouse and he refinished the most beautiful dollhouse for my sisters and I.  I thought I would dance with him at my wedding.

My Grandma Grace loved her grandchildren unconditionally.  She called us her CHARMS (our initials spelled it).  She called me Serenity.  I loved discussing books with her and she would have been so proud that I had become a librarian.  Sadly, she didn't live to see me graduate from college.

My Grandma Kay could have been my best friend if we had grown up in the same era.  She wrote me every week when I didn't live here.  We loved talking about our favorite shows, Gilmore Girls and Sex and the City.  We went for Chinese all the time.  Her unexpected death felt like I lost all three at the same time.

Like I said, if you still have your grandparents - tell them you love them as much as you can.  I didn't do it enough.  I didn't hug them enough.  And now I miss them still to this day more than anything in the world.

I wish my grandpa and Grandma Grace would have seen me receive my Master's.  I wish all three could have met my boyfriend.  There is so much I want to tell them and never will.  So, please treasure your grandparents, they are a true gift from God.

"And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand."

Merry Christmas in July!

I love any excuse to celebrate Christmas.  I could watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas songs all year round.  And there was a time when I ate candy canes all year but I have sadly given up that habit to save my teeth (knock on wood, I'm still rocking no cavities at the ripe old age of 25).

So Christmas in July is a great mid-year celebration to remind me how much I love that holiday...

It might come as a surprise but my favorite Christmas in July celebrations are not the drunken festivities at Put-In-Bay or the impromptu Christmas celebrations the teens and I have thrown at the library but the summer we celebrated at Lakeside by staging the nativity.

It was probably 80 to 90 degrees and the children and youth of Lakeside were in full Christmas story regalia.  Annie, Meg and I were shepherds with beads of sweat dripping down our faces.  The weather must have been similar to that in Bethlehem on the first Christmas.

We walked through the streets of Lakeside and then held a live pageant in front of Hoover Auditorium.  It was a much different and more memorable experience than the routine children's pageants at church each year.  This was summer.  This was Lakeside.  This was special.

I think one of my favorite memories of my Grandma Grace comes from this Christmas in July as well.  Later on, my mom framed a picture of Meg from that day.  We all know how tan Meg gets.  Well, here is a very dark six- or seven- year old Meg in a shepherds outfit, headdress and all.  My Grandma took one look at the photo and loudly announced, "Look, it's Meg bin Laden."

If you look closely though, you can see Meg's blond wisps of hair peaking out from the sheet and her nose is covered in freckles.  She looks all American.  Ha ha!

In the future though, I'm going to make it a priority to celebrate Christmas in July.  Perhaps an Elfmas Party or Christmas movie marathon...  Whose with me?  Let's spread that Christmas cheer, singing loud for all to hear.

Merry Christmas in July!

(Pictures not from Christmas in July but they fit the bill.)

Happy Palm Sunday!

I love Palm Sunday! I think it may be my favorite festival day of the church year. And for one reason:

THE PALMS!

The rest of the choir hates it and my dad hates it but I absolutely love it. It's like the Hallelujah Chorus, once you sing it, you never forget it. It makes a great shower song too! And it definitely takes some adrenaline to get though but it is so beautiful, especially when the sopranos take the descant.

I also like singing "All Glory, Laud and Honor" but "The Palms" is the main reason I love Palm Sunday. This year I got smart and recorded it during church, so I don't have to wait until next year to hear it again!

A Red Headed Woman for St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of my Irish friends and family! I'm not a big fan of the holiday. My Scotch-Irish heritage from my grandfather never really prompted me to want to celebrate the holiday. This picture, however, was taken on the first and probably only St. Patrick's Day I will ever celebrate. Ahh I miss my long, red hair that went well for the holiday since I always wanted red hair like some of my Irish friends. So, I say that St. Patrick's Day back in 2008 was well celebrated but I'm content just relaxing this year and coming years.

Oh There's No Place Like...the Mall for the Holidays!

This time of year is my favorite next to summer! I love everything about the holiday season - from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to decorating the Christmas tree. I'm the one who eats candy canes all year long, remember. The last few years though, I've started to feel like I'm missing Thanksgiving and Christmas because of my hectic retail schedule.

It seems that the true meaning of these holidays has been overshadowed by Black Friday sales, extended mall hours and consumerism in general. Thanksgiving seems to get lost in the shuffle as well. I may eat candy canes and watch Christmas movies all year and start listening to Christmas music November 1 but for me, the official start of the Christmas season is when Santa makes his way down 42nd Street in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or at our church's annual wreath party. The mall does not dictate when Christmas starts for me.

As a retail store sales associate, I will spend the majority of the next few weeks trying to remain cheerful and full of the Christmas spirit, which is difficult for even me, a Christmas freak. It saddens me though that my holiday season is interrupted by a the increased hours I will put in at the mall. Thanksgiving will end early this year so that I will be rested and ready to sell jeans and sweaters to eager customers at 4:30 a.m. on Black Friday. What happened to spending time with family and loved ones on Thanksgiving?

In my opinion, our consumer-driven society has taken the holiday shopping one step too far. What's the difference if you buy your new DVD player at midnight or 10 a.m. on Black Friday at Target if its the same price? Keep the same hours. Be consistent. Let retail employees enjoy their holidays for a change. I'm grateful that my store is not open at midnight or on Thanksgiving but my holiday will be different this year. It's hard to even think about an approaching holiday with a weekend of long shifts at the mall looming.

When did we become so dependent on the material things? I know I'm guilty of following trends and getting my needs and wants confused but not when it comes to savoring my holiday time with family and friends. I will not be at the mall shopping when I no longer work there. For me, I want Thanksgiving and my time off of work from the library to be memorable, relaxing and simple. No long lines, no piles of clothes, no waiting for a parking space. That's not me and in generations past, everyone survived without the deals of Black Friday.

My favorite Black Friday memories took place no where near the mall. For two amazing Thanksgivings, we were fortunate to spend the holiday in Florida with my cousins. On Black Friday, there was no shopping but time spent together with cousins that we only saw every few years. We made fudge, decorated the Christmas tree and just savored the moment. That won't be happening this Black Friday. It's hard to picture a Thanksgiving weekend without the mall or sorting through the ads after pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

It is my hope that society realizes that Black Friday shopping has gone too far. I wish we could revert to a simpler time when the emphasis on Thanksgiving week wasn't placed on Black Friday but it was on Thanksgiving. The holiday is supposed to be about our country, family and being grateful for all of life's blessings. Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, those fundamental values were lost. Let's try to bring back Thanksgiving in the future. Be thankful. Eat turkey. Watch Home Alone. Stay away from the mall!

So, if you are going to be out shopping on Friday...do me a favor, please be nice to the sales associates. If the promotion sign is misleading or the store is out of a size, its not their fault. Remember they are people too and its the holidays, spread some cheer! Or better yet, don't come...consumers set the hours after all.

Article from the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-black-thursday-20111121,0,6032883.story