Husband and I spent the evening yesterday with members of his family on a pretty lake, celebrating family and the 4th of July, our nation’s birthday.

We enjoyed lots of good food while we waited for the sky to get dark and the fireworks to start. Unfortunately a pretty heavy thunderstorm blew through about the time we were going to start eating. We ran for the house.

That wasn’t the kind of dark sky we had hoped for. But lucky for us after the rain the sky cleared and the fireworks started on time.

We sat in lawn chairs on the shore and enjoyed the show. It reminded me so much of my childhood when my family would take our little 35 horsepower ski boat out on the water and watch the fireworks.

Lots of similar memories were made last night.

And though I did worry about my dog back at home, closed into a bedroom with the TV on loud, I couldn’t begrudge all the people out last night on a warm summer night watching the lights explode overhead. Later in the week when folks in the neighborhood are still setting them off I’ll be more grumpy.

I hope you all have the kind of 4th that best fits your family. And I hope this great American experiment lasts for centuries more.