Childless, Family-less Holidays

It's still so weird, spending holidays without my family. It really magnifies how much it sucks to be childless on these days.

Growing up, we typically went to my grandma's brother and sister in-law's house in Arkansas for the 4th of July festivities. We'd usually go up the night before, especially if it fell on the weekend.

We would wake up in the morning with breakfast hot and ready from my Aunt C and Grandma. Sausage, gravy, bacon, eggs, and biscuits, all up for grabs. We would put on our swim suits before our food had time to hit our belly and jump in the pool. Then, we would swim all day long, only stopping for lunch and fights. Hey, kids will be kids, right? Lol

As a side note, my cousin and I are six months apart, and we've rarely ever gotten along. We just fight all the damn time. Well, my cousins daughter and A are a year apart, and everyone says they remind them of us, because they fight all the time. Lol It's mini Due and cousin M all over again. Lol Par for the course, I suppose.

I can remember going over there when A was a year old or so, and my cousin making bitchy remarks about A being in footed pajamas and drinking milk out of a sippy cup, she tried to say that was causing her to be too big for her age, when in reality it's called genetics! She's a tall kid!

We would always rush back home shortly before sunset, in order to catch the fire works over the Mississippi bridge. There were always cars lined up along the bridge, very dangerously! But, it was fun.

Then, we came home, and did our own fireworks. Lol

But, things are different now. It's just NYEBoy and I. I know it won't be forever, and in a few years, we'll be settled in a home raising our kids and passing along our own family traditions, but right now, today, it's lonely.

If A were here, we'd be at the local community 4th of July parade. Afterwards, we'd have lunch and snow cones planned. And this evening, we'd all trek down to the lake to watch the fireworks. And we'll probably still do lunch and fireworks today, but it's just not the same without kids or family, you know?

I hope you're all having a wonderful 4th of July.

Happy Birthday, America!