As we approach the 249th birthday of our United States of America, I realized it had been quite some time since I’d read the list of grievances in the Declaration of Independence and reflected on the events and writings leading up to the American Revolution.

I’m not going to attempt a history lesson in this blog, but it was a good reminder that we are a vibrant society with plenty of things to unite us. This weekend is a good chance to celebrate that – and build on our shared experiences.

One tradition many of us enjoy is, of course, fireworks. Wish me luck as our family tries to avoid a repeat of last year’s celebration, when a glitch with the pyrotechnics team caused the rockets to aim towards the crowd. Thankfully, despite hundreds of people running around in the dark while mortar rained down, nobody was injured!

To replace that traumatic memory, this year I’m forcing/encouraging our kids to learn to waterski over the holiday. What could go wrong?

We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend. We’re off tomorrow – our blogs will be back on Monday.

– Liz Dunshee