July 4th Blues

It's just been ONE OF THOSE weekends. I've got the blahs. For the past 3 years, James & I have trekked down to Zilker Park for the awesome concert put on by Austin Symphony coupled with the glorious fireworks display. But this year, it was for naught. I'm blaming the 4th for being on a Monday night instead of a weekend.

I'm sitting here at 7:35pm, escaping the 100 degree heat, on a "school night". My 4 day weekend of leisure is over, and I'm not feeling too festive. The only show of patriotism I displayed was wearing a red top with red flip flops, a blue barrette, and hoping that my khaki shorts would pass off as "white". James did unfurl my American flag over the front porch so it could wave grandly.

So whereas I'm not feeling to festive, I'm still feeling patriotic: I'm grateful for my independence, the freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms (even though I don't have any). I appreciate the freedom of choices - either in the right to life or right to have a choice. I welcome our religious freedoms. I appreciate that even though we differ as a nation with gay marriages, that gays do have the choice to live in Texas (no matter what Gov Perry says), and I support our troops doing their military duty. I am proud of the fact that I have 2 grandfathers who served in Wars - one in WWI, the other in WWII. I am glad that I have the right to vote, and will not be unfairly discriminated against because of my sex. I am also proud that I cry when I hear "The Star-Spangled Banner", and that my heart swells every time it is played. My three favorite colors just so happen to be red, white, and blue. And even though my ancestry consists of American Indian and German heritage, I'm still just a good old Texan, American gal.

To the USA: Happy 229th Birthday.