When I was a kid we would have epic 4th of Julys. Our whole block would get together and have a huge block party with games and a parade for the kids, lots of food and combined fireworks. As an adult, I always strive to make my independence parties as epic as my childhood. But as much as I try making the holiday special, it just never seems to live up. Sometimes it’s hard to make things as amazing as you want them when you’re dealing with broken families and unwilling participants.

This year was not epic, but it did end up being pretty fun. We spent the evening hanging out with Jim’s mom, sister and niece. The menu was delicious if I do say so myself. Carne asada, homemade refried beans, aunt ann rice, chips, salsa, guac, jarritos and homemade ice-cream. Jim and Honor picked out a pretty amazing array of fireworks and Jim had us rolling with his jokes as he lit each one off in the alley. I told him that it was possibly the funniest he has ever been.

Afterwards, the kids and I raced to the baseball field to see my friend, Carrington, perform with her 1940’s singing group. The city had a pretty cool fireworks display this year, but I forgot that we were to be subject to the onslaught of patriotic country music. I kept thinking how much more powerful the fireworks would have been if we could have watched them in the dark, quiet, alone with our thoughts – that would have been an amazing end to the evening.