One of my family’s biggest traditions is the annual 4th of July party held at my mother’s house. It’s a big shindig every year, and since my father’s passing, it’s also become something of a memorial for him; he was a great patriot and tremendous scholar of Colonial-era history, and oh how he loved that day.
This year, the heat wave was so dangerous that the town canceled both the parade and the fireworks, normally the two bookends of the day’s festivities. My mother made the wise but sad decision to cancel the party for the first time.
And everyone… showed up anyway. No parade, no fireworks, and an officially canceled party, but friends and family came by. Officially just to stop in and say hello, but finding my mother overjoyed to see them and with a wide-open door (not to mention all the food she’d already bought for the party!), they just stayed.
People just came out of love, and stayed to share it. No fireworks, no parade. Just each other.
Guess you can’t cancel family. Thank goodness!
The Opportunity Machine 