America the Beautiful

My favorite holiday is looming around the corner. Christmas! Yay! Just kidding... my favorite holiday is actually 4th of July. I know kind of strange. There are no presents or turkeys involved in this one. But I love it, and always have.

I love American history, especially Revolutionary war history. I love the story of the signing of the declaration of Independence. I think about how brave all those men were and it's mind boggling. Out numbered, out skilled, out financed and just about out everything else. Yet farmers with pitchforks fought to the death and won us all our freedom. Nothing like a good underdog story! And in my mind the Revolutionary war was the ultimate one.

I've said this before, but walking the freedom trail in Boston was one of the best things I've ever done. Exhausting yes. But worth every minute of it. The city is so packed with history. There are so many of the same buildings there that Paul Revere saw 235 years ago!

Anyhow as this holiday weekend approaches and I plan out my red/white/blue outfit I can't help but think about how lucky I am to live here.

I can't listen to that song "Proud to be an American" without tearing up. Because I really am so proud.

In celebration of 4th of July, I'm going to list my 6 favorite things about this country and the people who live in it:

1. Mc Donald’s (just kidding. Well not really...)

2. Diverse people. I love that we are a land full of all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds. I think if we all stopped hating each other we could really
learn something

3. Diverse landscape. From deserts to swamps to forests to beaches. We have it all here! You can live in just about any climate you want right here in USA.

4. We fight for what we believe in and will not be silenced. This is what I think when people get so passionate about politics and controversial issues. Opinions are good to have, at least we care about something!

5. We ban together in the face of diversity. I can't believe Sept 11 was almost 10 years ago. I remember it like it was last week. But what I remember most was watching people help scour the wreckage, donate money and burn candles at midnight vigils. I remember feeling like someone had personally attacked me, even though I was 3,000 miles away and didn't know a single person lost. Because we as Americans are like a team. You mess with 1 of us, you got us all. It's good to know that you can depend on your fellow Americans when tragedy strikes.

6. We have men and women in the armed forces that are willing to sacrifice themselves for our safety. Who put the needs of their country and their countrymen first. Who lay their lives down for what they believe in.

Happy almost 235th birthday America. Here is to ringing in many more together!