4th of July and Independence Day has a Whole New Meaning for Me.

Today is July 4th. I love July 4th. I have a lot of good memories of July 4ths from my childhood back East. Back then the Southampton parade wasn't merely a long convoy of firetrucks. It actually had lots of different things in it. Like kids on bikes. And marching bands. It was much more of a community parade than it is now. That's why I love the 4th of July out here in Glenview. It's a good ol' hometown kind of parade.



While I was listening to the speaker this morning at our ceremony at the Glenview New Church, a lot of thoughts were running through my head. I may not have all the details exactly correct in relaying the speech. The speaker was telling a story that had to do with a pilot who was shot down and imprisoned for 6 years. After he was freed, he then started giving talks about that experience and how it changed his life. At some point later in life, he ran into the person who packed his parachute on that fateful day. The speaker talked about the many different parachutes we use in our lives: physical parachutes, emotional parachutes, spiritual parachutes, etc. and challenged us to see how we all pack each others parachutes, and how we can do that. Say a nice word. Be kind. All these little things that we think don't necessarily mean anything to anyone, but on some level or another they help to pack another person's parachute.



Right now I/we have a lot of people packing our parachutes and for that I am so, so grateful. I feel so blessed and priviledged to be in the supportive embrace of so many amazing groups of people both far and near. So for that, we thank you.



I wonder if the British instilled the same amount of fear in the American Revolution fighters as this cancer initially instilled in me. On this Independence Day, I re-declare war (whoopa$$?) on cancer so that I, too, can be free from its oppression. So I can continue to do the simple things in life that I did today, like ride my bike, walk in a parade, and love my husband and son. Raise a glass with me today, for freedom and whoopa$$!



Love, Sandy