Ahh the holidays. When you're a kid the world is full of magic and the holidays have a way of reminding us of it. The Fourth of July used to be one of my favoritest of days. (Yes Favoritest!) It meant a family day having a picnic in a huge park with tons of community games that can only happen in a true home grown event. Where there are watermelon eating contests, capturing people in park jail for charity and giggles, tossing water balloons, ring toss, and other assorted games with radio DJs spicing up the event with music and talent like shows. There was an art to dressing up in just the three colors of red, white, and blue. After the picnic the day is to be enjoyed because it is summer and friends are all over the neighborhood. Before dusk friends I would gather some easy to handle snacks, a boombox (So eighties/nineties I realize), and some blankets. My dad would set up the extension ladder and as dusk begins to settle my friends and I would make several half trips up the ladder to claim all of our loot. Before my friends and I were old enough to "hang out" on the roof, my dad would chaperone or I'd go up with my brother. There was something so special about being up on the roof. It certainly wasn't an everyday activity. But then after we had are giggles and moment of adjusting to the slanted roof we would settle in for the fireworks display. Together we would ooh and ahh and sing along to the patriotic cheesy music. We proudly stood up with "God Bless the USA". And when memories are beginning to be made in your mind you don't realize how much you will cherish the moment or those silly but precious traditions. But you do. After the show we would gather our stuff to head back down the ladder (though it was fun to drop snacks and blankets off the roof). We then would have our own private display of pretty fireworks (I was not into things that went bang for no other reason than to go bang.) But "pretties" I appreciated and would occasionally light. But my favorites were the smoke bombs (bye bye Mosquitoes), glow worms (because how cool is it to see a 1/4 inch pellet grow into 3 - 4 inches), Sparklers (because you can spell your name and your crush's - come on we've all done it!) and the Bloomin' Flowers/Jumpin' Jacks (they're just so pretty!). But this year I realized how much effort really is put into the holiday magic. And I am saddened to admit that I opted out. No family picnic, not even a sparkler for my lil' eight month old (though we did both dress in only red, white, and blue). But we will. Today we just had a quiet day at home. But what event spurned this trip down memory lane. A toy from a cereal box. I am trying out different snacks that we'll satisfy my sweet tooth without equaling 2000 calories or will spurn me into eating lots of snacks that still equal mega calories. So with this guideline I have bought some old childhood cereal favorites that happened to be on sale. And tonight as I grabbed a snack bowl to munch, the toy dropped from the box. It brought a smile to my lips because how many adults can say they got the toy. Oh I remember shoving my hand into many of cereal boxes for the prized toy. And how parents would complain to wait for it to fall naturally. (Yeah Right!). But today the toy fell from the cereal I bought for myself. It reminded me that over the years I have gained patience but I lost that magic and drive to get what I want. So with my toy in hand I am reclaiming the fun in my life. It is good to have patience and to be responsible but it's also important to not sacrifice ourselves and our ways to others' expectations.
May your HealthFULL Journey point you towards your Healthy future while helping you to cherish your past. 'Til we meet again. . .
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