For at least 25 years my wife, Gwen, has prepared a special breakfast for our family on the Fourth of July. All those years ago, Gwen was trying to think of a creative way to mark the day for our young sons. She found a recipe and modified it to suit our needs for the day. It consists of waffles topped with butter, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, syrup, whipped cream, blueberries and some powdered sugar. It makes a sort of spectacular patriotic fireworks display of cool, tasty fun. Our son, Benjamin lives with us in California and enjoyed the tradition with us.
As parents, we have hoped to pass along our values and traditions to our sons. We hope the things that are important to us become important to them. It's a way we hope to be remembered and honored by them. We hope and pray for the best for them.
Our son, Jon, lives in Seattle and will be married to his fiance, Dana, at the end of the month. This Fourth of July he messaged this picture:
Our son, David, lives in New York with his wife, Donia. This Fourth of July he messaged this picture:
It brought tears to our eyes to think that in at least one small way we have created a tradition that will carry on even after we are gone. I know that our sons have been normally influenced by us in both positive and negative ways. Mostly positive from my wife and, I regret to say, much of what they learned from me early on was negative. I'm on a better path now, bless God. We're proud of our sons, not because they are a product of our upbringing, but for their own sake. We do feel honored not only by their carrying on this little tradition, but by who they are and who they are becoming. They are a blessing to us and, we pray, to God.
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days...
