And yes, my friend is very wise in how she sees parenting.
]]>When I was 16, my parents saved and saved to take us to Disneyworld. My brother was 14, and my sister was 11. It was so much fun, but I remember riding this kiddie roller coaster (I am deathly afraid of roller coasters). My mom and I rode in the car together, and after we got off, this little kid tugged on his dad’s hand and said: “Daddy, what’s wrong with that big girl?” I was mortified. Even more mortifying was the photo of my face from one particularly scary dip…
]]>“One of my best friends once told me part of her job is to create happy memories for her children.” That’s lovely!
]]>My favorite 4th was during my first year living in NYC. I was on my own and living in a really terrible studio apartment. Technically, I did have roommates, but they were cockroaches so they don’t count.
I had only a few friends, but the relationships were tenuous at best since they were in high school, extremely rich and my co-workers at an ice-cream cafe I was working at after I got out of college.
Anyway, I wanted to go to the fireworks and no one wanted to come along, so I packed a backpack full of snacks and a crappy blanket and headed out to a spot along the Hudson for optimum viewing. It was early. No one was there. I fell asleep in the sun and woke up with thousands of people pressed in close all around me. I was sunburned, groggy and I had been drooling, too. I packed my stuff back up as my little bit of squatter real estate closed became standing room only. Tugboats appeared along the river shooting streams of brightly colored water straight up in the air and then the fireworks went off.
It was blast. Absolutely the best display of fireworks I have ever seen.
I came there alone, but ended up leaving with about 40 people to head over to the South Street Seaport pier. A bunch of us got on a sailboat and went for a cruise. These strangers shared everything they had with me quite freely. I felt like a king. A lot of them still keep in touch. It was a great first summer in New York.
]]>I know, I know. It wasn’t exactly a family friendly thing, but 4th of July will always be synonymous with Summer lovin’ to me.
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