"Let freedom ring...and keep ringing"

Fireworks are illegal in Colorado but coming out of the grocery store I noticed a huge

firework stand with tons of people around it. Since it is illegal, I wondered how this stand even existed, but it did, and I never found out why. What I did think about were "sparklers", those sticks we used to get, light and just hold and wave around. It was enough for us to have. We didn't need any grand show or elaborate display. Just the sparklers were mesmerizing enough. Usually, my aunts and uncles were over with my cousins, we had a cookout and then waited for it to get dark so we could each get a sparkler.

It was a simpler time then. Summers days were carefree. They were filled with getting together with our friends, roller skating, playing simple games like hopscotch and potsy, reading books like the Bobbsey Twins, Heidi, catching fireflies, going to the beach and having picnics with family. Simple but oh so enjoyable times. And what indelible childhood memories they left. We did what we wanted to do, stayed out until it was dark, and on the fourth, got those sparklers.

Today the world is so different. Better in a lot of ways but not so in others. As kids we were not aware of the all the problems going on in our country but it's not that way today. My grandchildren are well aware of the complicated issues we face and have a sense of unneeded anxiety. I hope this worrisome feeling can disappear soon, as it robs them from the free and careless days of summer.

July 4th is the day we celebrate our freedom from British monarchy. That separation gave us all the freedoms we enjoy today. Those freedoms have been passed from generation to generation. And as guardians of those freedoms, we have the responsibility to make sure, for our children's sake and our grandchildren's sake, they stay and are preserved. That's really the greatest inheritance we can leave them with.

So here is my wish. That on the next 4th of July, we can all hold a sparkler our hands, enjoy that small delight of mesmerizing beauty and that freedom will keep ringing on for all of us and for every generation to come.

Liz❤️