A Fourth To Remember

At the end of this week, Americans across the country will gather with friends and family to celebrate our nation's birthday. The Fourth of July is America at it's best - I love this time of year. It's the time when we come together for backyard cookouts, pool parties with the neighbors, local parades featuring the fire department and high school band and to wave sparklers back and forth once the sun has gone down. Sure it's hot and humid, and there are bugs everywhere, but the outdoors and the 4th just seem to go together. Whether you watch fireworks at the local park or from the cooler comforts of your TV in the living room, there's just something about celebrating our country once a year that reminds you how proud you are to be an American.

Every night I watch the news, and I see all the terrible things that happen at home and abroad. But I still say to myself every night, "I'm so blessed to live in this country." We have our problems, we have our fears and we have our shortcomings. But we have freedom. We have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have family and friends to share out lives with. And this is something we have every day, not just on the Fourth of July. So, break open that cold beer this Friday, and roast up another hot dog while the kids and the dogs run around in the back yard. And as you take a drink to cool off from the heat of summer, remember that nothing tastes as good as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Happy Birthday America!