I really love Fourth of July. And I think it is The Rancher’s favorite holiday. He loves the fact that it is a holiday that is mostly noncommercialized (did I make that word up?) and that there are no expectations of gifts. Its a day that we can celebrate and spend time together as a family. But I really love that we have a day set aside that I can say (or think, because I don’t really go shouting things from the rooftops- but maybe I should), “I’m proud to be an American!” or I can break out in song singing, “Its a grand ol’ flag…” and its totally ok. Actually The Rancher might be slightly embarrassed but he can live with it…
I think that I love this day because I really love this country and I feel very connected to the roots, the heritage, and the values that this country was built upon. Yes there are things, especially political things that I don’t enjoy or I don’t agree with. But there is also a standard that I have the chance to live the life that I want as long as I work for it.
When we celebrate Independence Day I think that we celebrate in two parts- one the legacy of our country. This land is filled with battlefields, graves, homes, monuments, museums, ect, that are preserved to help us remember what this country was founded on and the cost of it. The second part is that this is a land of hope. There are so many new beginnings and opportunities for new beginnings here. Instilled in this hope is a mix of feelings of pride, dedication, determination, hard work, sacrifice, success, and satisfaction.
And that sounds like the reasons why I love to ranch. We are able to preserve the land, preserve the heritage of ranching and preserve the hope of bright futures and new beginnings.
