Land That I Love

On this Fourth of July, I sit in my home with a new grill waiting to be used, a new patio I made with mulch and furniture to make it all too perfect for entertaining. Fireworks in the garage for the kids and maybe we can even get the projector out for movie night later. What a great way to spend this

American holiday with all the land of milk and honey has to offer. But as usual, I’m drawn to the past. In knowing the origin story, you gain perspective, and it is through that lens I have come to appreciate my bounty. Because it wasn’t always like this.

The hard days lived by so many who came before me, the ones who made this day possible. Those average people that believed in a way of life and prosperity beyond the governing rule of Divine

birthright. People of simple means but a drive and determination to make something for themselves. The men and women who worked a hard and unforgiving landscape at times, and against all odds, built the foundation of a nation for generations to come, to dream. They are the premise for the ‘American Dream’. The original group from near and far looking, searching, for something more.

As time goes on, and our lives have complicated, we often forget what it took to bring us to where we are. But outside of the desire to climb corporate ladders. Making enough money to show off whatever lifestyle we want to project on social media. There is an undercurrent. A pulse that still pumps the blood, sweat, and tears of the average person. The ‘Average American’ if you will. The ones who answer the call to arms in defense of our country. The ones who act when a crisis arises. Strangers banding together to form a human chain to pull a girl out of a rip current. So many miraculous stories unreported. And as quickly as they were there to help, once danger had subsided, they were gone. Leaving you to wonder if they weren’t real, but angels sent to help in an hour of need.

So as America celebrates one more trip around the sun, I would like to say thank you to those who made this day possible. For allowing me to be the starry-eyed dreamer I have become. For pulling me out of the rip current when I couldn’t get ashore. Happy Birthday America, you look great, and may the best be yet to come.