This is THE weekend! Or, should I say WAS the weekend. The kids and grandkids all came up from southern California to spend a week every 4th of July. The kids and grandkids who lived up here came and joined us. Our very first gathering, our first summer in Fresno, the thermometer on the patio read 110 degrees but we'd started a tradition and it lasted almost 20 years.
It was a big 4 bedroom, 2 story house and there wasn't room to turn around in. At night you didn't dare try walking through the rooms because every square inch of floor had bodies on it. The swimming pool was filled all day and a good chunk of the evening. The animals hid for most of the day, coming out to walk around those bodies on the floor when the house finally got quiet.
The neighbor used to tell me he was going to set up a toll booth --- for outgoing traffic only. He figured he could make his mortgage payment off of us. All the neighbors said they took delight listening to the sounds of this family delighting in each other for that week every summer. Dad and I used to worry they were going to run us out.
We waited for the kids to quit bringing dogs and start bringing grandbabies. When the babies started coming, we had assembly lines on the den carpet for diaper changing and napping. Then we watched the grandbabies grow up. Grandpa taught them how to swim and jump off the diving board. Lisa made Orange Dreams for the grown-ups in the 'Blend-Blend'. Judy kept the dryer going with warm, dry towels. Every year the grandkids put on a show for us. We celebrated July/August birthdays. We cooked, we ate, we drank, we laughed. It was a wonderful time! The memories run through my head like a slide show.
I'm wishing a happy Fourth to all my family and to all of you as well!!!
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