Monday, July 5, 2010

Independence Day ~ Coming Home

Joan French Home in Peoria

There are so many good memories that surround the 4th of July that it has the feeling of coming back home.  We take time off from work-a-day life in anticipation of something spectacular.  Families gathering at reunions, grills firing up, baseball games, trips to national parks, vacations and picnics are just some of the activities that surround our national birthday celebration.  The fireworks from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Peoria, Illinois, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and San Francisco, California spread "the rockets red glare" across the skies of America.

2009 Fireworks in Peoria, Illinois

The nostalgic sense of coming back happens regardless of the things that we do on Independence Day.   We leave home in one way or another by pursing our dreams and fortunes.  We go out on our own, fulfilling obligations, succeeding and failing in our many endeavors.  This process does not require moving or running away from where we are born. It happens even when we stay put in the place of our birth. There comes a longing for home, that which we have experienced in the distant and not-so-distant past. We want to be welcomed by loved ones without a need for explanations or excuses. We want to be honored guests at a party that are embraced by the happiness of being seen again. Much of this seems to be realized and gained on the Fourth of July.

I was in Peoria, Illinois last year among my extended Jones family. All of the first cousins and many of their spouses, children and grandchildren came together for a reunion in celebration of our eldest cousin’s 80th birthday. There was a steam boat trip up the Illinois River, big parties, a trip to the Wildlife Prairie Park, fireworks and little gatherings of kinfolk for several days. It reminded me of what is really important. I had the undeniable sense of being home even though Peoria was never a place where I lived.

Wildlife Prairie Park

We have much for which to be thankful. The founders of our country set up a dynamic system of freedom that allows us to have such strong feelings of home, connection and patriotism. There is no other place on earth that has such a celebration.  Disgruntled people on the extreme right or left of the political spectrum can put aside their quarrels with the knowledge that our virtues far outweigh our shortcomings. It is the most exceptional culture and form of government that has ever been. We should never take it for granted. It is our country. We are welcomed back home from sea to shining sea every 4th of July.

French Family at Peoria Reunion