4th of July 2022

It rained on our parade, y'all.

Well, it would have if the parade hadn't been canceled on account of weather.

 

July 4th has been a big deal for the AckThbbbt! family since we move to this small community 22 years ago.This town does the holiday right with a days-long carnival and beer tent, softball tournament, fireworks, and a HUGE parade.

 

All of this activity happens within blocks of our house allowing us to walk to everything without having to deal with traffic or parking. It's one of our favorite things about living here. 

 

People rope off seating areas along the parade route DAYS ahead of time because they don't want to miss out.

So, when the forecast detected thunderstorms, and the parade was canceled, it came as quite a blow not just to us but to the whole town.

Businesses and organizations had invested time and money into floats and coordinating volunteers.

 

And we all wondered what would happen with the fireworks, the capstone event of the entire three-day weekend.

 

Organizers closely watched the radar and gave hourly updates on social media. There would be a window of opportunity just before dusk when the storm would break. They decided to take it! Word went out: Come early!

 

The boys hurried over to our house, and we all walked over to the park together. Rain began to fall lightly as we set up our chairs and popped open our umbrellas.

 

The show was AMAZING!!!

 

Imagine distant lightning flashing behind brilliant exploding colors. The lightning received enthusiastic oo's and ah's the same as the fireworks.

The rain fell harder as the fireworks exploded, but we stayed. By the time the echoes of grand finale faded into the rolling thunder of the approaching storm, it was pouring. Still, it was a happy time.

Out of 22 wonderful years of July 4th fun, this is the one we will remember best and talk about most.

"Remember that time we watched fireworks in the rain?"