Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 1996

Because it's been an emotional weekend and I'm feeling a touch of empty nest melancholy today, I looked for old photos of a favorite 4th of July memory. The one I've scanned for this blog post is from a "trip" to Colonial Williamsburg with my children to celebrate the 4th in 1996, an incredible 15 years ago. The years go by so fast, don't they?

On this day we took our picnic to Market Square and settled in for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Afterwards, we roamed Colonial Williamsburg, making stops at all of the kid-friendly exhibits. We brought food from the kitchen and set the table for an 18th-century dinner at the Powell House. We sloshed in the brick-making pit. We drilled at the encampment. Finally, we watched the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums and stopped to take a picture with a friend from our old neighborhood.

As we called it a day, the kids begged, "Mom, can we do this again every year." I stifled a laugh and said sure, I thought that could be arranged. My daughter was already a junior interpreter, so she did indeed spend more holidays there. In three years, my son would join the Fifes and Drums and spend the next 8 Fourth there.

How fortunate we've been to live in Williamsburg where we've been able to participate in the many opportunities that Colonial Williamsburg affords its employees and neighbors. What a lovely growing-up experience my kids have had here.

My daughter announced her engagement on Friday and my son left for graduate school in Tennessee yesterday. They're off on their own now. To them and others, my generation passes on the rights and responsibilities that are their heritage.