Declare Your Independence

I love the 4th of July because it is a no-stress holiday. You don’t have to worry about buying presents, decorating the house, baking dozens of cookies and pies, or offending your in-laws because you want to spend the day at home. There is no getting up at the butt crack of dawn to prepare a very large dead bird and there is no gravy to fuss over because Aunt June always complains about lumps. It is most definitely a stay-at home mom’s kind of celebration. You go to the store and get some paper plates, plastic cups, chips, hot dogs, hamburgers, a gallon of ice cream and a jug of sweet tea. Your husband gets to stand outside and cook in the sweltering heat while you stay inside and relax on the couch. It is also the only day of the year that you can let your kids hold an object engulfed in flames and nobody can call child services!


This past July 4th my family did what a zillion other families all across the nation did – we started the day attending a patriotic church service, had a cookout with some neighbors and family and we watched our neighborhood firework show while being eaten alive by mosquitos. As the day was coming to a close a thought hit me. Why do we wait for New Year’s Day to resolve to change something in our lives? Doesn’t Independence Day make more sense? After all, aren’t’ we supposed to be celebrating our freedom to be who we want to be, to live how we want to live, to say whatever we want to say, to worship how we want to worship, to think want we want to think and to love whomever we want to love?

So on July 5th I decided to declare my independence and do something worthy of the lives given in order for me to have the life I have. I declared to – are you ready – live my life. I mean really live it. Not just get through the day. So I bought a pair of roller skates. What do roller skates have to do with freedom? A lot actually.

Close your eyes and think way back to the last time you roller skated? Was it in 5th grade at the Galaxy Skateway? Was the DJ blaring your favorite songs like Boogie Wonderland? Did you couple skate to How Deep is Your Love; hands sweaty and heart pounding? Did you wonder how Tootie on Facts of Life got away with wearing her skates everywhere? At first I felt like a fool going to Sports Authority and buying the skates. They had about 14 different choices of in line skates but only 2 of the oldie but goodie four wheeled skates. When I got home I grabbed a pair of socks and laced them up. Standing up slowly from the living room sofa I was only a little wobbly. I gingerly scooted around on the living room carpet until I felt like I wasn’t going to keel over. Then I was ready for the true test – outside.

As my two teenagers fled to their rooms and my husband suddenly became very busy with some last minute spreadsheets, I half skated/half marched out the laundry room door onto the driveway. With my six-year old as my only spectator, I started slowly down the drive; hands spread wide to help me balance. I was doing great, much better than I had expected. But then I started to go faster and faster. It wasn’t the most convenient time to find out that my driveway had a decent downward slope but off I flew towards the street, my six year old yelling encouraging words the whole time. “You’re doing it mom! Good job!” I heard screaming and realized it was me. My driveway was most definitely not Galaxy Skateway. Praying that I would at least fall on my rear and not break a hip, something in my brain clicked back on. Instinctively I bent my knees and slowly dragged my right skate stopper on the ground. I stopped just at the edge before the street and my driveway meet. I was still standing and my 6 year-old was cheering! It took another 10 minutes before I was zipping down the street like my former 10 year old self. I was shuffling, turning backwards and had more fun than I have had in a long time. I felt free.

It doesn’t matter that my driver’s license says I’m 41, that my teens think I have no clue about life, my kindergartner thinks my favorite show is Wonderpets or my husband gets annoyed because I don’t wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. Those are just small pieces of who I am. Flying down the street with my IPod blaring Donna Summer’s Bad Girls I felt young and free and full of life. I declared my right to put my life’s puzzle together one piece at a time and create my own finished picture. I’ll add pieces and put aside those pieces that no longer fit. And I'll even rediscover some pieces that I thought I’d lost. Like roller skating. Let freedom ring!