Can it be? I'm 33?

So, the birthday thing has been kind of a let-down for me ever since I learned the truth about the fireworks.

As a little girl, we always celebrated my birthday in Baker with family - LOTS of family! There was cake and ice cream, presents, singing and... a parade downtown and... lots of fireworks.

I believed (and I was let to believe by well-meaning adults who really should not have been so "well-meaning!) that the parade and the fireworks were part of my special day.

Imagine it... all the festivities... just for me... I really AM a princess!

Reality check (several years later when I'm not such a little kid anymore)... the cake, the ice cream, the presents - for me. The parade, the firworks, and ALL the extended family - not just for me, but really for the 4th of July!

Ah, the heartache...the pain... the whining!

The truth: I am glad to share my birthday festivities with this amazing country! It is here that I get to believe anything I want (parades and fireworks are for me!)...I get to pursue any of my dreams (education, career, Brian - that's right, I pursued!)...I get to speak freely (I should probably practice doing less of this)... I can read anything that interests me (this is great except for the fact that I sacrifice a lot of sleep to finish a good book!). And these great things are just a few of the many blessings that I enjoy as a citizen of this nation.

And all of this because of the righteous foundation on which this country was established and for which brave men and women from all cultures and backgrounds work hard to defend.

So, this year I turned 33, and I shared the fireworks and the parades - Heck, I would have even shared the cake and the ice cream (but maybe not the presents!) with the U.S.A. After all, we have much to celebrate!

A few things to celebrate...