Summer is not over. And you are free to enjoy it for as long as you are willing to call it summer. At our house, we make guesses as to what day will be the last day we eat outside at the table on the patio. Because as long as we are able to eat outside, it is not winter.
We choose not to believe those who proclaim, “Can you believe it? Summer is almost over. I mean it’s already the Fourth of July!”
What do you believe? If I watched the news regularly I’d be tempted to believe that we are not winning the war on terror, we can’t keep our children safe enough and that our president is the worst president in United States history.
But summer is not over and we chose our president; as well as our governor and state representatives who fill each and every seat of Congress. We are among the very fortunate to live in a country which allows us to speak what we feel, choose who will govern, work in the career of our choosing and live wherever we like. We can even hop in our car or onto a bike and travel over to the next state! We are free.
As recently as 1984, there were 38 countries in the world whose people lived with an oppressive government. Today there are just 16. My kids will tell you quickly that means more than 22 countries have experienced a change for the better. This is the everyday math they are required to notice over the summer in an effort to prevent their brains becoming mush in the heat of the day.
Sometimes it is all too easy to forget and take for granted that which is most present in our everyday lives. I believe summer has just begun and today is one of our many opportunities to thank our service men and women who have continued our fight for freedom.
Two-hundred-thirty-eight years later, we are free. Still.
Let’s go outside and celebrate freedom!