Happy Fourth!! We found ourselves in pursuit of happiness today, as Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor. Rain and thunderstorms sporadically visited the Shenandoah Valley, staying more than departing. It was rather difficult to try and plan anything. (I honestly think that "plan" is a four letter word that makes God giggle!) But we perservered and pursued some happiness.
After taking some pain medicine for back pain, we set out to Harrisonburg. At high noon, the Declaration of Independence was read on the courthouse steps. It was very moving to hear the entire document as I observed a piece of Americana pie. Multiple generations on lawn chairs and blankets, holding flags as they listened intently. Men dressed as militia, firing muskets at the conclusion of the reading. I got teary eyed realizing the state of our nation and how things will hopefully get better. Watching my boys, with their flags and red, white and blue outfits, gave me a glimmer of hope that our nation will be a true United States of America someday...... That topic is for a future post.
We returned to the cabin for an afternoon of thunderstorms. Life was good as we watched an "I Love Lucy" marathon and played Kung Fu Panda Uno. SRR sought his own happiness in the water color genre. Again, we pursued happiness, making the best of a dreary day. Watching Lucy pursue happiness made us belly laugh: being in the Vitameatavegamin commercial for fame, locking herself in the meat locker trying to save money, the list goes on..... People forget that the pursuit can be just as rewarding (and fun) as reaching the goal.
Luray saw us this evening, as we participated in the annual Family Fun Fest. We dropped $20 for the boys to bounce on inflatibles to their hearts' content. JOR played on one that resembled American Gladiators, SRR went through numerous obstacle courses. Sadly, the rain picked up. MGR then needed to pursue the duck race. We had an hour to kill, in the rain, before the race was to start. Then, just when I thought it would start and we could get out of the rain, the race was postponed by 30 min.!! The litany of whines commenced: "I'm hungry", "I'm tired", "I'm cold". You can just imagine.... I was ready to ditch the ducks, but MGR was determined to see the race. The race was about 7 minutes long....and we lost!! I was not happy! We made a quick dash to the nearest Chinese place for dinner, as soup and tea were needed for defrosting. After dinner, we headed to the park for fireworks. I don't know what was more beautiful: the actual display or the boys watching it in awe. Truly another inspirational moment reminding me that hope is in the horizon.
Wishing you and yours a successful pursuit to happiness!! May you enjoy the pursuit as much as the goal!
2 comments:
Wow! What a great way to spend the Fourth! Can't wait to see the pictures!
People forget that the pursuit can be just as rewarding (and fun) as reaching the goal.
Beautiful! How often we are reminded of this as parents.
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