The fourth of July is a holiday that my family enjoys. As the mom, I enjoy it because it is not one of those holidays that involves spending a lot of money and putting in a ton of effort, such as Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc. The kids like it because it does involve doing something together as a family outdoors, plus they get to stay up late. There is usually water fun involved, whether it is the lake or a sprinkler and kiddie pool, and there is always lots of food. You pretty much can’t go wrong!

We started our celebrating yesterday, when we all went to our local “Fourth of July” rodeo, and stayed for the fireworks afterwards. Benjamin has already been to one other rodeo, but it was his first experience with fireworks. The kids had told him about fireworks and showed them to him on TV, so he had some idea of what to expect, but it was apparently a lot more impressive in real life. After the first “boom” and explosion of lights and color, he dove behind his nearest sibling (Des) and peaked out from behind her for the next few. A minute or two later he was dancing around with his brothers in his red American Flag t-shirt, and yelling in his Ethiopian accented English that “fireworks are good!”

The rodeo started as it always does, with the playing of the National Anthem. While it plays, a horse and rider circle the arena, with the rider carrying a large flag. They start off slowly and gain speed through the song, and are at a flat out gallop with Old Glory flying by the time we get to “the home of the brave.” I love it!

As I looked down the bench at my family, it was awesome to think about where they all have come from to be a part of our family and a part of our country. We spend a lot of time celebrating the countries and cultures that they come from, and it’s fun to celebrate the fourth because being American, whether it is Vietnamese-American, Korean-American, Irish-American, etc., is something that we all have in common.

We sat in front of a family of Spanish heritage who were also enjoying a night out as a family. The parents spoke very little English, but the children were fluent, and we enjoyed each other’s company. They added to the diversity of faces and cultures that made up our little piece of America that night.

Because of the topic of this blog, (transracial adoption) I write a lot about racism, prejudice, etc. Last night was one of those nights where it was nice to think about and celebrate all of the good things about our country. In my opinion, one of the greatest things about this country is the wonderful variety of cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities and people that call themselves American.