I don't know if there has been another Fourth of July holiday that I felt less like celebrating than this one (and I've never been big on large social gatherings or staying up late to fight fireworks traffic)! I am embarrassed and horrified to be an American during what has been a disastrous presidential term with a science-denying administration and national leadership that has (actually not that unsurprisingly but still depressingly) put forth an abysmal effort at containing COVID-19 within our borders, compared to other developed countries. Additionally, the continued inequalities that exist among our citizens, particularly those of color, are even more starkly apparent in light of recent events (not all people were free in 1776 and they're still not today). Because many of our country's liberty-loving privileged citizens refuse to wear a mask (which I and many others would argue is what is currently the ultimate demonstration of patriotism), we will be stuck down in a semi-permanent form of shut-down for the foreseeable future (years?) without the ability to safely congregate with friends or possibly send kids to school in the fall, among other activities. (Could we go back to being part of a civilized European country, please? We need Lee Greenwood to write a song along the lines of "God Save the USA," with lyrics including "NOT PROUD to be an American...")
Kelvin and I "celebrated" (with yet another evening home with kids, not doing anything or going anywhere) our ninth wedding anniversary last week, and due to COVID-19 spread particularly in Southern California, we will not travel to Orange County as planned at the end of the month to celebrate Kelvin's father's 70th birthday (which was on July first). It's a bummer, but such is the reality of living through a pandemic in the good ol' US of A.
We continued social distancing this holiday weekend, and spent the weekend of the "fourth" with our nuclear family of four and no one else, mostly within our four walls and backyard. It was actually a really nice time (I
much prefer Friday-led three-day holiday weekends!), with the kids behaving remarkably well and playing pretty well together (it's been such a blessing during this quarantine time for them to have a built-in playmate, even though Niall consistently and maniacally tears down any of Iver's built forts which causes lots of frustration and tears). They also
slept in (until 6:30 or so!) which was a huge gift. We did lots of indoor math (Iver is very into solving logic equations and doing sums or products in his head these days and figured out on his own that the country is 244 years old), reading books, a few crafts, and I even got some therapeutic decluttering in. We had great weather with time for neighborhood walks, bike rides and some beach time. When the kids were in bed, Kelvin and I watched
Hamilton on Disney+ which was really enjoyable (perhaps even more enjoyable than when we
saw it in the theater in 2017 because I caught a lot more of the words with watching the subtitles and we were comfortable with better seats and closer to the "action" in our own living room). Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius, and it was neat that we could listen to his marvel of musicianship, rhyming, and historical storytelling on this holiday weekend "sort-of" celebrating our national beginnings (and, if you're also a Hamilton fan, check out this clever
"mask-up").
Iver wishes everyone a Happy Fourth
Iver has been interested in history/presidents (we only talk about the past, good ones), and he'd requested a book about Abraham Lincoln (the assassination fascinated him) from the library (which has been doing curbside pick-up, allowing us to get more and new reading material, which is much appreciated!). Although it was a bit over his head, Iver and I watched the
NPR video of the descendants of abolitionist Frederick Douglass reading his Fourth of July speech. Niall told us who his favorite president is (it's mine, too).
THE RED
Niall and Iver discovered last week that some strawberries that my friend Kellie planted last summer (due to my
black thumb!) were bearing fruit (last year, her seedling also produced
peas!). We were (well, especially I was) shocked. While many people I know have used this springtime time at home to nurture their gardens, I certainly did not (planting/gardening is something in which I have
zero interest and even less talent).
Harvested bounty
Iver and I followed a
Little Passports activity idea and made red and blue "Holi powder" out of flour, water, and food coloring to celebrate the Indian and Nepali springtime festival of water and color, which I remember fondly from our time overseas. Unfortunately, it never quite dried well and didn't easily get pounded into flour (but still killed some time!).
We enjoyed many meals outside on our deck (which has been a neat quarantine tradition for us that we will probably continue in the warmer months). My pollen allergies are finally getting better, and I am actually enjoying the time in the outdoors now!
We passed some outdoor family time at Luffenholtz beach in Trinidad, which was new to us!
I love that Iver is doing a black power salute (unprompted) in this photo!
Check out this BLUE, BLUE Humboldt sky!
With Kelvin and I both being physicians who are pretty risk-averse, we aren't huge fans of the idea of home fireworks for children, although (because there was zero chance we'd go anywhere public to view any this year amidst the pandemic) it briefly crossed my mind to get some this year, as Iver had been asking about them.
Nevertheless, we decided unanimously against it, and instead, they had to settle for evening glowsticks which Iver found in our guest room, given to us by a friend Gloria ages ago. Even though we didn't go out to watch any fireworks (and the kids were asleep), the neighbors sure made up for our lack, as I heard was the case across California!
While we did really enjoy our close family time this weekend, this year (more than in years prior) on the Fourth, I was reminded that I lament where (who) we currently are, and that I crave and strive to live in a country when all men (
and women) are created equal and demonstrate an appropriate balance of individual liberty and concern for other citizens as is absolutely critical in a crisis like we have on our hands. When we are there, and when it's safe to leave the house, maybe I'll celebrate the birth of the USA a bit more enthusiastically.
photo: "Liberty Crumbling," award-winning sand sculpture at TexasSandFest 2019 by Damon Langlois
