Our Own Kind Of Independence Day

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I love the fireworks, the food and the overall patriotic spirit of the celebration. It is also the weekend of my family reunion, which is something that I really look forward to. There are so many great memories attached to this time of year. My little town where I was raised goes all out with a parade, jets flying over and the party can't be beat...in my eyes.

Cole has never really been able to participate in the festivities, since he was extremely small, 6 months. We have picked and chosen one thing at a time, but never the whole day from beginning to end.

This year, Brian was scheduled to be away and I was left desperate and lonely. Here is my favorite holiday, I know that my family is together, without me. Quality time is my primary love language (feel like you know me just a little better?) and I was stuck with a 4 year old who really could care less if I was around. The pomp and circumstance that can only come with a major holiday was going to have to be cast to the wayside. I even concocted a plan that I was going to drive to Iowa, by myself, with Cole and Slugger; just to be around someone. Brian shot that idea down real quick. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures, but let's be honest-it was a really stupid idea in the first place. So, as I waved good-bye to my husband I set a mental goal to make this the best darn holiday that I could, even if it meant watching Backyardigans for three days straight. It was all about perspective.

Tuesday was a scorcher and we had been having a major heat wave. There were friends that were still without power, after a major storm knocked it out for millions 5 days earlier, us included. We had our power restored on Saturday. I had planned almost a month ago to go to the beach with some friends of ours on the 3rd. With the incredible heat, we knew it was a bad idea. So, we went over to their house to play. Come to find out, there were a lot of people there seeking respite and air conditioning. A year ago, I would have seen all of those people and just turned right back around and put Cole back in the car. No way. Recipe for disaster.

I decided to give it a shot, and he did great. Had a wonderful time playing with the other kids and only had small clusters of myoclonics. After the play date, they were going to an ice cream parlor. Again, never thought I would be willing to take my kid to a crowded establishment that served ice cream, with a bunch of other kids. BUT, I was feeling wild and said that we would go. They served sugar free vanilla and the boy was fine. He even sat next to another child and did not pull his usual get-on-the-floor-run-away-drive-me-crazy routines that is his common method of operation when trying to be confined to a small space, such as a booth. Holy cow-you mean we did two semi-normal kid things, in one day, with other kids?! I was elated. Kept telling my nurse that I never would have done something like this even a few months ago.

Like I said, feeling brave-we even went swimming, and got Cafe Rio afterwards. Without a nurse or the husband. I was feeling like it was not only America celebrating independence.

The actual 4th rolled around and our church was holding it's annual pancake breakfast. That meant getting Cole up early, which is never really a good idea. I was willing to try though. Got him up and ready, loaded him and Slugger in the car and we went to the church. You might recall that we attempted it last year and struggled. I had my nurse meet me there and even though he was too distracted to eat, Cole had a good time running around with the other kids that he was familiar with. I felt like being wild-so we decided to go to the parade. Yep, a loud and crowded HOT parade. Without the cooling vest, whoops! We set up right in front of the first aid tent, knowing that they had radio connection with the paramedics. Who were in the parade, so convenient :) Cole loved it! His favorite part was the marching bands. When the fire trucks passed he said, "They are coming to rescue me!" So cute and so sad.

We were practically melting by the end, constantly fanning Cole and drinking water. We went home, skipped any BBQ's but felt like we were going to try the fireworks. I knew that I was not crazy enough to take him downtown, but we had a secret tip about watching the major display across the river, away from the giant crowds, but getting the same show with less traffic. We met up with some friends and had a great time. The show was actually better than last year this way, since you were not looking straight up and did not have all of the Smithsonian's blocking the view. It was beautiful with the reflection on the water and all of the boats anchored in the Potomac to watch the show. An awesome discovery.

All in all I was so grateful for taking chances and having them work out. Especially since Cole started to change drastically, again, just a few days later. I would still have rather been with my family and with my comfortable corner of Americana, but I feel like we made the best of the situation. Independence with a twist.