Normally on the 4th of July, I go to the same party each year. The party isn’t always on the 4th, depending on what day of the week it is, but it’s always around that day. This year, it was a few days before so the party was on the weekend. And since the pandemic, things have been a little different, but they have been getting closer to normal.
Last year and this year, there was still a party, but it was a much smaller group than it used to be because of the risk of getting sick. Obviously, any gathering can be a risk, but keeping the numbers lower and making sure everyone is vaccinated and not sick helps. And I think knowing everyone at the party I go to helps because I can feel like everyone is taking all the precautions that they can. Some people still wore masks, but not everyone did. And nobody made a big deal out of anyone who did wear a mask, which was nice to see that it was normalized. I can see wearing a mask in the future if I’m about to see people who are immunocompromised or if I felt like the risk was higher. And I’m glad that I’m friends with people who don’t mind that or think someone is overreacting.
And it was a pretty standard summer party. A few of us discussed how weird it felt celebrating when so much is happening in this country. But I think all of us also were just glad to be hanging out together and didn’t think too much about it being the 4th of July. It is always nice to be together and able to catch up. And of course, enjoying a bunch of food. I have made drunk watermelon in the past, but this year I didn’t get the ingredients in time and I couldn’t make it the day of. But I hope that there will be another summer party so I can make it for that one.
And as it seems to be at parties, I didn’t take a ton of photos. I was more focused on being present with my friends. But there was one photo that I knew we would need to take. In 2014, it was really hot and a few of us ran through the sprinklers. We took a really funny photo and it’s become a tradition to take the same photo again each year. We’ve never had the sprinklers on except for that first year and the photos always come out awesome. And this year’s photo didn’t disappoint.
And I love how all the photos look together.
When I was putting together the collage, we were looking at all the past photos. We knew why we didn’t have a photo for 2020, but we were all confused about why we were missing one for 2019. We couldn’t figure it out and I thought maybe I missed the party that year. But I then realized I should look at my past posts and that’s when we realized they didn’t have a party that year since they had just gotten their dog. But considering we’ve done this since 2014, only missing 2 years isn’t that bad! I did think this year about how I should have asked everyone in 2020 to take a photo alone pretending to run so I could combine them. Too bad I didn’t think about that back then, but missing the photo will always remind us of going through the pandemic.
Even though the party was a few days before the 4th, there were still people setting off fireworks in the area. Some of them were right on the other side of the fence and the sparks were coming toward us. I had one get my arm, which stung, but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t even leave much of a red mark. And it was nice to see some fireworks since I wasn’t sure if we would.
I always try to stay at these parties as late as I can, but I’m also always mindful of my drive back home and how other people driving might not be the safest. So I usually leave before it’s too late. This time, I left around 10, which was later than I was planning but I was just having a good time with my friends and lost track of time.
I felt like this was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. I didn’t really feel like celebrating, and doing something a few days earlier felt better. On the 4th, I didn’t really do much, which was fine with me. I had some errands to run and I took advantage of having a day off and being able to do them. And even though I didn’t do much on the 4th, I still got all my traditional 4th of July things in a bit earlier and I didn’t miss out.
You Might Also Like
Another Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media)
Birthday Party Adventure! (or Another Traditional Celebration)
4th Of July Weekend (or An Early Holiday)
Finally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July)
4th Of July On The 1st (or Another Awesome Party With Friends)
A Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)
