Family matters

A long weekend

I am so looking forward to this long weekend. The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Family gathers on all sides to celebrate our independence with food, laughter and, best of all, fireworks!

On Thursday night, I plan to make a cake with my daughter for a Friday picnic and on Friday night, we'll whip up a pasta salad for a Saturday get-together. There's nothing better than picnic food, if you ask me.

My father's slowly getting better and is able to eat foods without gagging, as well as staying up a little later. He made it over Friday night for a visit and my daughter was thrilled to be crawling all over her Pop again. B-2, on the other hand, is much too heavy for him. He's my 6-month-old Porky Pig that weighs a little too much for my father's bony arms. (He's working on getting some muscle back on his body, though!)

We had a busy weekend with Avon deliveries, birthday parties and shopping on Saturday, and church, dinner and babysitting on Sunday.

We watched my brother's two young ones on Sunday and boy was that an experience. That afternoon, we had a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 1-year-old and a 6-month old. Our house is little, which, on that particular day, was a blessing. (Less space for wee ones to explore.)

Over chicken nuggets and tater tots, I said to my husband, "do you realize that people technically can have children these ages, all in one household, all the time?" We were silent for a moment while we thought about that.

I'd like to take this opportunity to give HUGE amounts of credit to those moms and dads who are overwhelmed by parenthood and still plugging away, getting up to hungry cries at 3 a.m., starting the day at 6 a.m. and doing all over again.

It's a tiring life, but boy is it rewarding. It was awesome to see the kids interact. My daughter and my oldest nephew "get along" like brother and sister (meaning they fight like cats and dogs), while my youngest son and my youngest nephew enjoy exploring each other and learning what makes each other smile.

So, Happy Fourth of July to all and, parents, don't forget to savor the very best part of those fireworks - the looks on your kids' faces.