Half gone, fireworks, the 4th

 

2023 is now officially half gone. I am sure it took about 182 days, but it seems to have gone much faster than that. With my background in working 12-hour rotating shift, I developed the worldview of separating time into large slices versus looking at hours or half hours or quarter-hours segments, I look at life in much large chunks of time. Perhaps because of that approach to marking time’s passage, it seems to move very rapidly for me. Perhaps I am simply getting old enough that the days seem to evaporate as I try to give the most I can to each of those days. Never-the-less, there are only a few months left before we prepare for Thanksgiving and then Christmas.

One of the disappointments in this mid-year timeframe is that at the end of last year I had planned on retiring at this point in time. However, as I considered things from a financial point of view, it just made more sense to work through the end of this year. The Lord just would not give me peace about retiring in my set time. I lament, somewhat, not retiring, but I am certain that the delay will prove well worth the extra time on the payroll. Obedience to the Lord always produces wonderful outcomes and as fast as this year is fleeing away from me, my retirement will be very soon in coming.

After church last night we went out to eat at Braum’s before we met up with a few people from church to watch the fireworks from a vantage point we have used for the past several years. Betty Lemon has a condo on a hilltop just west of town that offers a spectacular view of the fireworks display put on by the City of Decatur. Kenny and Kimberlyn and their grandkids ate with us at Braum’s before following us to the overlook at Betty’s house. By the time we arrived there were already about a dozen of our church friends set up with their lawn chairs and coolers, waiting for the show to begin. By the time we arrived, we had only to wait about thirty minutes or so, and it was well worth the wait.

Cheyenne and Aubrey went to church with us so they could go with us to see the fireworks – and to Braum’s. It was 9:30 before we got them home after which, Mama and I went to Walmart to pick up some additional items for our 4^th of July party at the farm. I have found over the years that it is always possible to buy a few additional items at Walmart, no matter how trivial the need. Sunday night after church is the perfect time to shop.

The guest list for our party started at twelve but swelled to thirty. I will start the smoker early tomorrow morning with two chickens and a brisket. All that meat came from the farm. Then I will be grilling hamburgers and hotdogs near lunchtime. Some of that meat we produced on the farm. Some, we did not. All of our guests are bringing something. Sarah Fox is making homemade hotdog buns. Mama will be making macaroni salad, potato salad and a butterscotch lush. That along with what we already have on hand and what others are bringing, we should have plenty of food. The biggest challenge is finding places for everyone to sit.

Norman is getting some outdoor activities planned to entertain the kids, eight that are big enough to play games, and three that are too young to join in but will have a great time watching. Nineteen adults will be there to supervise and participate if desired.  I will be watching. Norman has Frisbees and water guns. Mama bought one hundred balloons for a water balloon fight. These are friends we have gotten together with on occasion in the past and have always had a great time together. The weather is forecast to be hot and dry, so some water activities are in order.

With all the meat we have to cook, we will fire up the charcoal grill I have not used in many months. I have switched over to the pellet grill exclusively, but with Norman to help, we can man the two grills effectively and speed up the process of cooking forty hamburgers and several dozen hotdogs. I was thinking about grilling some ears of corn, but we did not plan for that, so I will have to wait for another opportunity to do that.

So, all day tomorrow will be dedicated to feeding a crowd versus working on the container. But I was able Friday evening to get one outlet wired into the container, so we have power there. Unfortunately, VBS Monday through Thursday last week left me with only Friday night to get that little upgrade accomplished. Then, Saturday, Mama and I drove to Ana, TX to pick up our rescue goats – about a five hour round trip – and it was raining when we got back to the farm. That rain continued softly for the entire afternoon, so I did not do any more work on the container Saturday. Tonight will be spent getting the house ready for entertaining guests we have coming tomorrow. Wednesday I will be presenting an eight-hour class.

Staring off July with a flourish.