Independence Day 2023, Coming Soon!

self-care
#1

I am from a family that always celebrated every calendar holiday. Now, as I’m a grown-up and get to make my own traditions, I try to dial down the EVERYTHING about them.

I have a very low bar for what is an acceptable way to spend the 4th of July…

  1. not in jail
  2. not on the roads
  3. not fighting

It’s called Independence Day for a reason! So over the years it’s gotten better and better as I no longer live amidst a throng of drinking, drugging fiends, some of my very best friends.

This year I will claim my independence over worrying as much as possible. The day will come and go. The food will be good enough, and there will be enough. The weather is doing what it will do. Political hyperbole will be at a crescendo - I don’t have to worry about anything. It will all happen. I wish to have simple, basic gratitude day for living in a country at peace.

Anyone doing anything for the 4th? Please let me celebrate vicariously through you!

#2

@Thinkstet
Hold on to your britches! We had our annual cookout, dodging the rain which held off long enough for me to grill and get all the food put away in the house ( about 2 hours). I had planned to serve dessert in the house thankfully because the heavens decided to open up and rain down on us around 3:30-4pm. My three boys, step daughter, and our elderly neighbors who lives across the street had attended the cookout. The gathering was small and quaint which is fine with me & my husband. It is the one and only “party” we have each year that involves others outside our immediate family. No family drama, no excessive drinking, just enjoying each others company and discussing what’s going on in our lives. We always invite lots of people but most don’t come. We are pretty boring and don’t have a swimming pool but those that come live each others company.
Once the rain stopped everyone headed home with leftovers (at least my boys did) and my husband and I finished cleaning up and spent the rest of the evening on the couch with our fur babies. Pretty uneventful but it is how we like it. :slight_smile: Hope yours was good!

#3

@Jewelrydiva70- Oh man! Thank you for sharing your 4th of July cookout. I could imagine a lot of darting around and a buzz of activity around the kitchen getting everything together. How kind to invite the old neighbors so that they also feel something is going on.

My 4th- it was as expected- a bit of a deflated balloon. I struggle with AMAZING ideas about how FUN-FILLED and EXCITING everything will be. I try very hard to keep my thoughts less multi-colored, but I grew up in the 60s and 70s and everything WAS so psychedelic and fantastic to me as a child. I am still trying to temper my imagination.

My partner slept from Monday night until 4:00 pm on the 4th. I was actually glad about that because I didn’t have to “feel bad” that I was going to the community BBQ without him (he loathes community anything). So I went and spent 2 hours sitting in my broke-ass folding chair and no one talked to me much, and I got to feeling like “everyone” was having a great time and I wasn’t drinking or eating junk because of my diet thing, so those avenues were shut. Finally, I got up to walk my dog, and when I came back, another guy had put his lawn chair right in front of mine, so I was sitting behind him in this community circle. It felt bad- so I gathered my things and left. At home it was peaceful and I didn’t have to struggle. Argh. Even though I prepare for holidays those little hallmarky bastards have a way to get me every time. I’m going to have to work to retrain myself to expect less.

However, I did hold to 1. no jail 2. no roads 3. no fights- so it was a feeble win.

#4

@Thinkstet

Awww, I would have talked to you. You sound like a fun person to converse with. My husband is similar to your partner, he hates crowds and most people. At least that is what he tells me. So we do very little community things. Our neighbors are like family members, though. I have lived here for 20 years and my husband has lived here for 18 of those years. We have always tried to make sure our neighbors were plowed/ shoveled out in the winter and have way invited them over for the 4th.
I am like you when it comes to holidays. I am the last child of 8 and growing up in the 70s we would celebrate everyone’s birthday by having a big party at my mother’s or one of my siblings houses. When my mom passed away everything changed. Everyone stopped getting together, very deflating. I was only 20 at the time and live two states away from all my siblings. So when I had my family I always made sure our holidays were special. We have lots of traditions we do every year and the boys actually look forward to it. I least thought my life could be a Hallmark channel Movie…lol. SURPRISE! More like an ABC after school special! I used to make everything from scratch, break out the special silver wear, tablecloth, everyone would dress up, and everything had to be perfect. Now, I wear what I am comfortable in, just hope that everyone I wearing clean cloths and showered recently, our dishes and cutlery are disposable for the most part , horderves and dessert generally come out of a box or package. I do cook and have certain dishes my boys require me to make for the holiday.i.e. Meat pies for Christmas, ham for Easter, Turkey for Thanksgiving, ect. I spend a lot less time preparing and more time enjoying. Life isn’t a Hallmark movie, if it was we wouldn’t need to diet!

Jewelrydiva70