Saturday, July 5, 2026

Saturday, July 5, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2004. Mattie was two years old and this was his second trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Year two was a night and day difference from the previous beach trip. By year two, Mattie loved the sand, he enjoyed playing and building in it, and the ocean waves crashing onto the shore did not scare him as much. That year I got to see my little engineer at work, as he was learning the art form of building and decorating sand castles. I truly thought we would have many, many more family trips together. But that wasn't meant to be, and instead I cling to photos and each and every memory. Who knew that the only thing I would have left of my son are THINGS! 

Quote of the day: Someone can bless you one day and walk away the next — not because you failed, but because they couldn’t hold the weight of the relationship they helped build. ~ Andrew-Knox B Kaniki

When we lived in Washington, DC, we could easily see the National Capitol Firework show from our apartment complex. We literally walked outside our building to the main street, Virginia Avenue, and we did not have to fight traffic or crowds. It was one of the greatest perks of living in the heart of the city. Two blocks from the Lincoln Memorial! I wish that I still lived there, I wish we never left, I wish we never moved, and I am quite certain if we never moved, my life would not look the way it does now. I truly wish last night, that I could have walked outside my home to see the America 250 Firework show. 

With typical Washington, DC humidity and heat, we had storms last night, including lightning. People were cleared from the National Mall for close to three hours, delaying the entire show. My mom really wanted to see the fireworks. At first, I was going to tell her forget it, but then I thought to myself........ NO, America's semi-quincentennial birthday is a milestone. It is historic! So I decided to take my dad upstairs at 10pm, as he was already very sleepy and out of it. I needed to get him up the stairs and moving while he still could. Once he was safely in bed, I went back downstairs and my mom and I watched the TV until 1am. 

The firework show featured 850,000 fireworks shells launched from 10 sites. Last night's show made the Guinness World Book of Records, and I can totally appreciate why! It was a show like no other I have ever seen in my life. I can only imagine what it sounded like in DC!

The pictures of the event were just stunning.

If you haven't seen the show, I included a YouTube of this 38 minutes firework extravaganza! I am not sure what I was more amazed by..... the fireworks or the incredible musical talent of the Joint Armed Forces Orchestra (members of the U.S. Air Force Band , "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, and the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own). These musicians can do it all, everything from traditional patriotic music to pop music and the four military members who sang  during the fireworks show were down right gifted.