Happy Independence Day!

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I must admit, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.
It has been for many years.  I love decorating for it, cooking for it, planning for it, getting ready for it.

This year my plans were a little overshadowed by 2 things:
returning from vacation to cherry trees that needed to be picked and preserved right away, and being 7 1/2 months pregnant.  I’m slowing down more than I’d like.
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Still, it’s always fun to do as much as I can to make the day special.
Of course, today is about a whole lot more than colors and food and flags and spending time with family and friends.
It’s about a generation of men and women who pulled off one of the greatest miracles in the history of the world.
They gave us the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Remarkable documents.
Have you read them lately?
I highly recommend it.  You might be surprised to notice how much our government today resembles that of King George and how little our government today adheres to the Constitution.
But that’s another discussion.

Today I celebrate George Washington, who gave so much of his life to the cause, who was, as King George said, “the greatest man in the world.”  I celebrate John Adams and his wife, who sacrificed so much of their married life to the cause of liberty.  I celebrate Henry Knox, whose persistence and determination in hauling 80 cannon to Boston inspires me.  I celebrate John Glover, who led the men that so many times ferried Washington’s army across rivers in the night at pivotal points in the war, arguably saving the revolution on multiple occasions.  I celebrate the men who left bloody footprints in the snow as they suffered for a principle that burned deeply enough in their souls that they stuck around.  And I hope, how I hope, that I am a person who is prepared to stand, to honor by my own actions, all that they stood for.  I hope I can teach my children these same things.

So in the midst of the festivities, I hope we spend some time really considering what it means to be the beneficiaries of that founding generation.  THAT is why we celebrate, after all.
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Happy Independence Day!

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