Independence Day

Saturday was our first Independence Day as American citizens.  There's an irony in celebrating liberation from the country we were born in.

We spent the day around Ste Genevieve with Pat and Jodi and Pat's family, swallowed up as siblings for the day.  We got to

light fireworks for the first time in our lives!  The bottle rockets were placed in the big flat conifer in front of the house and left it smoking from the sparks as they launched.  The rain earlier in the day was good for damping down the greenery!  We baked a fresh cherry pie with a grated pastry topping that will have to be repeated because there wasn't enough to go around.  Played board games, knitted on a sock and promised to teach a mother and daughter how to knit their own, napped, ate and celebrated together.  The house was full with friends and neighbours and children everywhere.

Americans have been uniformly delighted to learn about our new US citizenship.  We got a high five from the lady in the DMV.  Servers in restaurants shake our hands and welcome us.  My company brought in donuts and bagels to celebrate.  A friend dropped a restaurant gift card on my desk for 4th of July.  We've been here eleven years and it is a pleasure to be welcomed into the country as citizens wherever we go.