4th of July

As of late, Elise and I have struggled with the summer holidays. Memorial Day...July 4th...and Labor Day. Not because we don't believe they are worthy of celebration. Mostly because the mode in which they are celebrated in our little neck of the woods, we feel, leaves something to be desired. First of all it is brutally hot. I know...I know...it is hot everywhere in the middle of July. Second of all when one of your neighbors greets you with a 'happy firecracker day!' you know--as with Christmas, I suppose--the true spirit of the holiday has been lost. Third of all, when 90% of the population is drunk by 9:00 a.m. on 12 oz cans of Mich Ultra....well.....

In any event, I think we are both making a concerted effort to return these summer holidays to their place of former glory, to recreate the essence of what made them so special to us in the first place, in younger, more innocent days.

Yesterday, we rallied the troops early, the only way we were going to secure a parking spot at the beach. We brought our umbrella with us this time, so we didn't have to worry about Sam turning into a bright pink, cuddly lobster. We crashed at the beach by the inlet and played in the waves, slowly indoctrinating Sam to the concept of the ocean. We saw planes and boats, scuba divers, kayaks and horses. By the time we left, there was a line of cars nosing their way into the parking lot, fighting for our spot.

After a few hours, we packed up and stopped at our favorite hot dog palace on the way home, Dune Dog. We always have to cajole Sam, zonked, "Not to fall asleep or you'll miss the hot dogs!" Afterwards, we all dive back into the air conditioning and nap (well, two Hannas napped, one Hanna worked on his foreign service questions :)

Naps were followed by a cool afternoon treat at our local Bucky's. We ran into Publix for grillin' fixins then headed down to our pool area where we piggybacked off the last grillers sputtering coals and slapped our own patties down. Skunkin tottered around, and his nanny (not literally...this was my mom :) joined us for a luke-warm bottle of Bud Light. We tried so hard to keep him up for fireworks, but as 7:30 rolled around, I suspected he wasn't going to make it.

We headed home for a bath and stories. He was out at 8:40, too early for fireworks. He was thoroughly zausted. So much so, he slept right through them (they fire them off at Cardinals stadium in the Town Center...close enough it sounds like they are falling on our house) and the firecrackers that popped until 11.

The 4th also marks the Shalhoub Family Reunion. Every few years the extended family on my dad's side gets together over the 4th of July holiday. This year, the event was held in Florida. Elise was introduced to many hairy Lebanese cousins and we even saw a video from the 1982 and 1985 reunions. She saw me dancing as an awkward 13 year-old to "You Spin Me Right Round" and got to see Sitty who was also on the video, busting a move after reluctantly being pulled onto the dance floor.

As I grew older, Sitty always used to ask me if I had a girlfriend. I seemed to always disappoint her. It was good seeing her today, and I know she would have loved Elise. Needless to say, she would have been slightly fond of Sam, as well!