A Fourth of July both Normal and Strange

Like many people, I spent much of yesterday thinking about how this 4th of July was so very different, and yet so very similar to those in the past.  However, unlike Thanksgiving, I don't really celebrate the 4th of July the same way each year, so that may be a mitigating fact.

My morning walk took me to the beach, which I've often done.  In past years, my spin class routine would be disrupted by the holiday, so I'd walk to the beach; now I may never have a spin class again.  In the past, I always wondered about the people who showed up before sunrise, hauling umbrellas and coolers and chairs and sound systems.  I knew that they planned to stay there the whole day to have a good view of the fireworks show at 9 p.m.

Yesterday, the beach was supposed to be closed, so those people weren't there.  There were still a few folks who had ignored the caution tape to get to the sand to take selfies or do yoga or capture the sunrise on their phones.

In many ways, yesterday felt more like a typical Saturday than a holiday.  We watched home repair and cooking shows on PBS.  We did some cooking of our own and enjoyed some floating in the pool.  I did some sorting of old paperwork.  We kept our eyes on the skies, wondering when thunderstorms would roll in; we had an afternoon storm and an evening storm.  I made myself a cheese plate, and I was struck by its beauty on the plate:

We tried experiments with wine, like this sangria:

I always think about sangria as a way to drink less wine, but in those terms, this experiment was a failure.  But it was tasty and refreshing and perhaps we could count it as a serving of fruit, as we did have raspberries, blueberries, and apples as a base.

In so many other ways, yesterday was strange.  I had some long phone conversations to process the idea that one of my best friends has decided to move to the Chicago area.  I had some long conversations with myself as I tried to process her decision and the larger national issues, like the pandemic and the upcoming election.  I had moments where I felt lonely and made a Facebook post like this one:  "I'm missing my grandmother, along with just about everyone else I've ever known. Maybe I'll make one of my favorite desserts that my grandmother Roof used to bake when I would come visit in Greenwood, SC. But what to make? A lemon chess pie? A chocolate meringue pie made with brown sugar instead of white to give it a slight butterscotch flavor? Five kinds of cookies so that I'd have some to bring back to my friends in the dorm?"

We ended the day the way we often do on a Saturday, plucking out notes on our instruments.  My spouse headed out to the front porch to play his violin.  I watched A Capitol Fourth and popped out on the porch here and there.  I watched the lightning to the west and the fireworks going off down the street as the neighborhood guys had fun with explosions.

Then the rain rolled in, and we all took shelter in our houses.  We watched the beautiful fireworks live from Washington D.C. with those majestic monuments as back drop.  I said to my spouse, "I'm homesick for so many places I wouldn't know where to move."  There have been times when I'd have been watching those fireworks in the D.C. area (although only once when I watched them from the Mall).

In all, it was a good day; now, it's back to more regular life as I try to get ready for the week to come.  I much prefer a Monday off to a Friday off, but I'm grateful for any time off.