With tomorrow being the Fourth of July, it makes me think about past celebrations for the Fourth and summer activities that I associate with this holiday.

When I was growing up, my town always had a Fourth of July parade that anyone could participate in - called the "Horribles Parade." People dressed up in costumes, built props, and sometimes even constructed their own floats for the parade. I remember one year (I think I was around ten) when the summer Olympics were happening. My family and some of our family friends dressed up as Olympic athletes. My sister was a track star, and my parents held a bamboo "hurdle" about two feet off the ground that she jumped over. I was a soccer player, and practiced juggling as I walked down Main Street in the parade.

As I got older, cookouts and fireworks started to be the theme for the Fourth. I always enjoyed eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon and then walking to the fireworks display at dusk. One year, I remember going up to Maine with my family and watching Fourth of July fireworks on the beach. That was pretty sweet.

Last year, my first Fourth of July since I moved to Indiana, was also my first experience with people shooting off their own fireworks. Since it's illegal in Massachusetts, we had always just had sparklers at our house and then watched the town's big fireworks show. So families actually buying and shooting off their own fireworks was new to me. When I visited the store to look at the wide variety of fireworks available, I was amazed. I just didn't know so many brands and types existed! The night of the Fourth, when it came time to shoot off the fireworks, I was somewhat wary of how safe this actually was, especially since there were a lot of small children around. I was assured by everyone that "we do this all the time - it's completely safe." OK... Everything was fine until one of the kids got too close and did actually get hit by an out of control firework! Luckily, only his hand was burned and he didn't suffer any permanent damage, but the poor kid was scared to death! So, the one experience I've had with shooting off fireworks in a backyard ended with someone getting burned. I think I'll stick to watching fireworks shot off far away from now on.

Although I have many memories of past Fourths of July - and it's always fun to enjoy these summer cookouts and celebrations - I think I too frequently lose sight of what we're actually celebrating on this day - our nation's freedom. Initially, when the Declaration of Indepence was signed on this day in 1776, declaring independence from Britain - and beginning the Revolutionary War - our forefathers fought against oppression, unfair taxation, and rights for Americans. This was the first time we thought of ourselves as a separate group of people - Americans. Over the past 232 years since then, many have had to defend our country and our people in various wars, struggles, etc. Even today, thousands are overseas serving the United States - risking their lives and being apart from family and friends for long periods of time.

So when I'm enjoying a hamburger and watermelon at a cookout tomorrow, I'll have to step back for a moment and realize how lucky and grateful I am for all these men and women thoughout history who have defended our country and worked to maintain our freedom. God bless America!