The 4th of July is truly one of my favorite holidays. I love the memories we create, as we gather in our yard with friends. We always have quite a spread of every kind of meat you can possibly grill, lots of side dishes and at least four different kinds of dessert.
The kids jump on the trampoline, ride bikes, hang out in my children’s bedrooms and go to the park. The adults relax and talk, and eventually play a game. This year it was a hilarious game of “Catch Phrase.”
Then we enjoy snacking again while we watch the fireworks at the park in the evening and then come back to our house for smores. It is really one of my favorite times of the year.
But what makes the 4th of July even more special is to hear my children talk about how great it was. No matter how old they get, they never seem to outgrow the fun of celebrating Independence Day. I can tell that our 4th of Julys will always hold a special place in their hearts.
But the morning after the 4th, I was on Facebook and got to see all of the status updates from some of my children’s friends. It was so heartwarming to hear them say things like, “It was the best 4th of July ever.”
As parents we sometimes forget that we are also impacting the friends in our children’s lives. That is why I prefer to have them gather in my home. It gives me a chance to really get to know them. While most of their friends do come from really good homes, some of them don’t. So I feel privileged to help make a positive difference in their life.
It can be a source of irritation sometimes, to allow friends to come over. While for the most part I don’t mind, I do get my days where I would prefer some peace and quiet. But I usually get over that. Although, we do require at least one day a week where no friends can come over so we can just be together as a family.
You could make a really powerful difference in another’s teen life. At the very least, you might get to read something on Facebook about how much they enjoyed something at your house.
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Photo by david balasa in Stockvault