The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, mainly because in the past it was about my whole family, extended family and best friends getting together to not just watch the fireworks but to enjoy each other’s company as we celebrated our freedom in America.
Back in the day, my brother Greg Belyeu along with my sister-in-law Shauna, would open up their home on this holiday for anyone and everyone who wanted to come over for a cookout prior to the firework show. We would all pile into their driveway, yard and home as we ate grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, along with ice cold watermelon to cool off from the heat of the day. After filling up our bellies, we would all walk down to the cove with our chairs or blankets to join our small town that seems to double or triple in size on this patriotic day. Boats would fill up the cove as cars lined the street ways, packing this side of town to overcapacity just to enjoy a 30 – 45 minute firework show. Of course, there were other activities going on from bounce houses to vendors selling glow-in-the-dark swords, necklaces, bracelets and more. Friends and family would all gather together for one exciting night of watching the city light up the summer sky in an array of colors while being serenaded to patriotic music.
Oh how my kids and my daddy loved to guess what color would burst next! It was fun to hear all the awes from everyone watching the show up to the grand finale that would light up the sky and cause the crowd to burst into cheers.
Afterwards the chaos would begin with everyone trying to get their boats off the water and their vehicles out of the cove area. Of course, this would cause a traffic jam for the next hour or two, but my brother’s home was within walking distance to the cove. So, we would walk back and make homemade ice cream while we waited out all the traffic too. We liked to call this our “Traffic Jam Party’’ and over the years we had become accustomed to enjoying it, rather than dreading it, as we watched our jampacked little side roads finally filter down to normal again. We didn’t seem to mind because we had good food to eat and great company to keep.
As the years have passed and times have changed, so have our huge family get-togethers. Divorces, differences and death have changed our special times and a lot of our family traditions. But for me, I will always hold dear to my heart our Independence Day and our little “Traffic Jam Party.”
As I look back and reminisce over all the years and times spent together as we raised our children, I realize now that these were some of the best days of our lives. So, I will choose to look back with great fondness as we press forward and hopefully create new traditions. I pray my children remember all the good times we had celebrating fireworks and our freedom, which we should never take lightly.
