Happy Birthday, America!

As is the case with most important conversations, the following conversation with Molly occurred as we were in the car. We were driving around and started talking about the 4th of July. Personally, it is one of my favorite holidays. It is steeped in tradition for me personally, so I hope to be able to pass along some of the love for the holiday to the girls. 


I was telling Molly about the plans for the day. (The girl loves to know in advance what we are going to do every day from here to eternity!) I told her we were going to run in the 4th of July race, then go watch the parade with our friends. Molly wanted to know why the 4th of July was a holiday. What came next, I can only apologize for in advance to her future geography teacher. I'm sorry, Mrs. Future Geography Teacher. I tried, I really did. 


And, cue another of my infamously bad explanations. (See previous charity example.)

Me: Well, it's a holiday because we are celebrating the birth of our country. It's kind of like a birthday for America.
Molly: Who's America?
Me: America is the country we live in.
Molly: I thought we lived in Olathe.
Me: We do live in Olathe. Olathe is our city, and our city is in America, the country.
Molly: I thought Olathe was in Kansas.
Me: Yes, Olathe is in Kansas. But, Kansas is our state. And, really, our country is called the United States of America. So, America is really made up of everybody's states. Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Florida - these are all states that are part of America.
Molly: Silence. So, are we going to wave 4th of July flags at the parade?
Me: Well, technically, it's called an American flag, because it's the flag of America. Our country. Remember? But, yes, we will wave them at the parade.
Molly: Oh. I like eating blueberry muffins at the parade.

Hmmmm ... not really sure I got through to her on that one. Although, to be fair, I do like eating blueberry muffins, too. I did buy her a placemat with a map of the country on it, in hopes of improving on this understanding. Let's hope she gets it down before we go to kindergarten next month. Or, my kid's going to be the only one saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the "4th of July flag!"

Molly did get to wave her "4th of July" flag at the parade.

But, despite this lack of understanding (aka. Mom's failure to explain), we had a great 4th of July. It started at the Lenexa Freedom Run. Cory ran the 5K, and I ran the 10K. It was miserably hot, and they ran out of water at one of the aid stations, which was not cool. But, I managed to squeak in just under 50 minutes (49:48), which was good enough for 4th place in my age group. And, as you all know, I do it for the medals!

Running into Danie after the race. I actually ran into quite a few more people, but our camera  memory card was out of the camera, so we had to make do with the iPhone camera.

Posing after something like our 13th Lenexa Freedom Day Run together. It's our tradition!

Yay! I got 4th place in my age group. If I'm counting correctly, I've gotten 5th place 3 times, and this is my 2nd time with 4th. Not trying to brag, just trying to illustrate how much I love that they give medals up to 5th place instead of 3rd like most races!

Next up: it was time for the parade. We were really crunched for time because I made Cory stick around for the awards ceremony to get my medal. We drove back home, showered and were back at the parade in 40 minutes. A new record. (Though, I did not get my annual 4th of July Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit from McDonalds. It's the only day of the year I get it. The medal was worth it, though.)

Before the parade began. Talking with Megan and Anne while Charlotte chowed down on some donuts.

The 4th done right

I love the 4th of July. I probably should say my love stems from admiration of the founding fathers' lofty ideals and patriotic vision. Wouldn't that sound noble? Well, not that I'm not grateful to the founding fathers, but I'm not sure my love has all that much to do with the document signed 235 years ago.

I'm not certain at what point the 4th of July became one of my favorite holidays. It may have something to do with the fact that it was the first holiday we celebrated after Molly was born. Or, maybe it's the simplicity of it - it's a holiday, but it doesn't require major planning, family organizing, or huge time commitments. Or, it could be that the 4th makes for some awesome scrapbook pages. You can't beat the red, white and blue colors, or the quality of all the outdoor shots you get. It could also be the fact that you get to spend the majority of the holiday outside. See, I really like warm weather. You'd think that my pasty (right, I mean porcelain) skin heritage would draw me to cold, chilly, cloudy weather. I have ancestors from Norway, Scotland and English, after all. Those aren't exactly bikini hot spots. But, no. I love warmth and sun. Well, I enjoy sitting in the shade on a sunny day. So, as much as I love Christmas and Thanksgiving, they are indoor holidays. The 4th? It's an outdoor, warm weather, sunny holiday.