Child's Summer Prayer

 Dear Angels Who Protect the Child,

   My heart is broke in a hundred pieces. I hear sounds of vacuuming and an outside lawn mower with the sight of orange tiger lilies in bloom next to the red roses. The yard is bursting with color and the sky is clear but today has turned bitter with more news of another child's brutal death. Summer has turned an ugly shade of gray.

  I ask that you protect the young from harm and that you remind each and every one of us that we are responsible for each other when we see a situation where we can help. Give us courage to intervene when needed so that situations become cohesive and loving once again.

  Keep me free of judgments or living in the past of how things could have or should have been. Please hear my words and bless all parents who cry. Help us to always feel your grace and that we stay appreciative of
baseball camps, dripping ice cream cones, flying bugs, snakes and four leaf clovers.

 Thank you.


 

 

Fourth of July

 Fireworks are illegal in my county where houses have wooden roofs and lawns are hyper manicured. The neighbor is shooting off his secret stash right now and probably worried that his grouchy old neighbor who lives in my house is going to call the police. Little does he know, the grouchy neighbor is fast asleep. It's been a long day, he's tuckered out from watching me juggle phone calls to our grown kids, shop for groceries, cook the dinner, assemble a centerpiece with one dozen roses and white exotic looking flowers, complete with a small flag, but it's the fourth of July! Independence day! Home of the free and another day to celebrate as a family.

 At first everyone said they'd rather spend the day swimming at their apartment pool and since it is a "work day" tomorrow, they'd pass on the fireworks show but at the last minute tradition won out and everyone came at 6:30 p.m. Charlie and Aaron like meat, we do not. Hannah is into raw foods only, Paul and Bill are vegetarians who like warm foods, the grand kids are pizza lovers as am I. Their parents are polite and will eat whatever I make. (thanks) Therefore, we had tacos with the hamburger on the side, lots of tacos. Two pizzas, one cheese the other green pepper. Our red white and blue were strawberries, blueberries and yogurt. Charlie brought two different kinds of ice cream for dessert and we forgot to make coffee.

 Isn't the fourth of July sentimental? Seven out of eleven of us drove to the fireworks show taking two cars. Parking was fluid considering the amount of people sitting on hills and sidewalks waiting for the annual light show. There were lawn chairs and vans, kids galore, bug spray waifing in the air and flags. Oh my the flags! The June bugs were thick and our spot was lumpy under the blanket but when the first firework shot into the sky, everything turned magic. Silence. Our mouths relaxed and our eyes widened. Some had tears. Silent thanks to the men and women who helped keep our country free. The grand finale had pinks and yellows, purples with greens and blues, red heart centers, white sparkles, wow! "A blinking sky!" said the little boy behind us. Poof, and then it was over. "Pack up, let's go. Tomorrow is another work day, " I heard a dad say. Until next year, Happy Fourth of July!