On the Road Again

We were home long enough to get the yard mowed and most of the garden weeded, but today we are on the road again. This time back to Central Illinois for cousin Rick's Independence Day celebration. We were there once several years ago, but work and distance was always a problem. We had planned on making it in 2020 since Chris retired in the fall of '19, but the pandemic stepped in and put an end to those plans.

This will be a quick trip -- up today, home Sunday. I am looking forward to visiting with cousins and cousins' kids and grands that I haven't seen much and some that I really don't know well. The annual event is full of food, fireworks, and fun. 

After that, it will be back to working on yard projects -- just a little bit each day. A newly acquired tiller will be a huge difference maker in re-doing some flower gardens and in digging up a new area for landscaping. It will also make next year's gardening easier.

I am looking forward to being back at home and spending regular time on the deck. Morning coffee, afternoon cigars, and relaxing evenings are all pretty easy and peaceful from the screened in confines of the deck. Whether reading, listening to music or the sounds of nature, it is easy to connect with nature, nature's Creator, and the Spirit of God within myself. Everyone should have such a place, even if it is only a place in the mind where one can go to seek refuge from the chaos of the daily grind. I feel quite blessed to be here on a daily basis.

To my American readers -- enjoy the holiday.
While celebrating our Independence from England is a worthwhile thing, I am beginning to see it as an encouragement to the Nationalism that I now see as truly detrimental to real world peace. I will be celebrating the gathering of friends and family, and the bonds of love that we share. I will celebrate the diversities in beliefs and cultures of our country, and pray for a return to the idea that this nation is a place where all peoples are free to live with justice, equality, and freedom.
I would love to feel the pride in the USA that I felt as an ignorant child of privilege.
I would like to feel that pride knowing that all peoples -- no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, economic class, etc, -- are truly equal and have a voice that is heard in this place.

John