Perfect Day

Yesterday was one of those lazy days that only happen when you get a day to yourself and purposely choose to guard and protect it. I am so blessed to have an incredible wife who is truly my best friend, partner, fellow adventurer and soul mate. We rose early for a day off and decided to do something totally different. Our normal routine, which most think is crazy, is to rise at 4:30 and take our dog pack for a walk on the canal. We stop by Starbucks around 5ish and Anne goes home to shower and get ready for work. I help get her lunch together and then typically return to Starbucks around 6ish to blog, do e-mail and think about the day.

We drove a little extra distance for our adventure with our dog pack. The weather was different for your typical July 4^th. It was overcast and actually raining a little. We arrive at our wetlands site with it starting to actually rain. The dogs are thrilled and we are ready to park on the side of the road, get out and then jump over a little canal ditch. It takes about 15 minutes to walk to our special little area. This wetland obviously has been set aside by the park department with the help of ASU and others volunteering to make it an incredible little spot to stop and sit and enjoy the lake that has an assortment of ducks and other animals that is driving my Freckles crazy as she now sees and smells something totally different.

There is a little stream that goes through this area that was planned by some naturalist and now becomes our dogs moment to enjoy walking through the water and taking in the different smells from a drizzly morning. We had visited this site probably 4 months ago and it has changed a little bit since then. Some younger students had decorated large rocks to help mark off the path that goes around this little wetland. We are the only ones out on a holiday July 4^th Wednesday. Everyone else obviously is still in bed or thinking about what they are having for their BBQ later that day.

As we are walking back on the this path that goes by a very large open field where some type of special grass or wheat is growing it strikes me that I have an amazing best friend that won’t let me relax and get too comfortable with my life. She helps me deal with the tension between giving my all to my neighborhood kids and also giving myself to my kids. Clearly I love my family by my kids aren’t kids and are now grown adults that decide what to do at the last minute so including them in events isn’t always easy. We usually go to a July 4^th Fireworks display with a large group. The challenge today was the weather, which is a first for us. It actually rained the whole day into the night. I decided to skip the pyrotechnics and stay home. I decide to include grandpa. It has been awhile since he has been at the house because he wasn’t strong enough to get out of the car and maneuver with his walker into the house. So this July 4^th is special and will be remembered because grandpa being able to come and actually enjoy our BBQ.

As we watched The Patriot on netflicks it was a great way to remember what our country had accomplished in fighting for it’s freedom, the freedom which allowed me to choose to stay home and not do fireworks but enjoy a BBQ with my family and veg on the couch watching Mel Gibson play out a role that showed a Father’s Heart for his family. Yeah, I’m glad that it rained and that my Anne didn’t have to work so we could be together and enjoy an incredible day together. I am so blessed to have such an amazing life-partner.  I love her!