After the 4th of July

Well, I guess before I get to After the 4th of July, I'll mention the 4th. We had a few people over for a cookout with a nice combination of family, friends, and neighbors for 18 people. This was supposed to be an outdoor event, but the temperatures climbed into the high 90s, so we had indoor options available. I decided to keep all of the food inside and set up a big table in the living room (our makeshift dining room when we need one). Some stayed outside on the porch under the fans, and some stayed inside out of the heat. I think everyone had a good time. 

Later that evening, we watched fireworks from the surrounding neighborhoods on our back porch. We could see five different displays from there. Not all of them made it above the tree line, but we got a good show. I love not fighting traffic to see fireworks.

Our Summer Reading mascot is a butterfly, so we wore butterfly wings in the parade.

The following weekend, our area celebrated community days, beginning with a parade on Friday night. As I have previously, I marched in the parade with other library staff. It was fun when people I knew called out to me during the parade, and I especially enjoyed the hugs I got from some of my storytime kids. This year, it was a special treat to have an overcast day that kept the temperatures down. About halfway through, it started to rain, and by the end, I was soaked. But I didn't care. It sure beat the heat from other years.

The candy John brought me.

A few days later, one of the little boys, John, who comes to storytime, came into the library and was excited to tell me that he had seen me in the parade. I asked John if he had fun, and he replied that he did and he got a lot of candy. I told him I had fun, too, but I didn't get any candy.

The next day, John came to storytime and brought me a bag of candy from what he had gotten at the parade. He wanted to make sure that I had some. John had carefully selected each piece and wanted me to know he had put a special green one in. It was such a sweet gesture that I smiled all day after that. 

Reclining at the movies.

That brings me to today when I did something I haven't done in years: Ward and I went to the movies. Things have changed since I was last in a movie theater. There were cushy reclining chairs, a grill, and a beer wall, along with the standard movie snacks. We got discounted matinee prices; however, the small popcorn and drink we shared cost more than the tickets. But I will say the popcorn was fresh and very good. I don't think you'll find us every week at the movies, but maybe we'll go more than once every decade. You know, you gotta live it up sometimes. :)

Tomorrow, I'm back to the grind with work, but with promises of temperatures 10 degrees cooler than they've been recently. And even if I have to work, that is reason enough to celebrate. Maybe our neighbors will set off some fireworks for us. :)

Until next time...