July 4, 2025: The Best Years

For our family, July 4th never needed fireworks.

When the kids were little, we lived in a neighborhood built for memory-making. A place where doors stayed unlocked and bikes scattered the sidewalks.

The layout helped. Streets curved into a perfect circle, with a patch of woods tucked in the middle. A walking path sliced through and connected one side to the other. At the front sat the swimming pool, the beating heart of summer.

Then, on Independence Day, a special event unfolded.

Our kids — McKenzie, Luke, Jake, Kate, and Sam — decked out their bicycles with streamers, flags, and pinwheels, preparing for the annual parade.

Around 150 others joined in, either on foot or something with wheels. Parents pulled wagons. Golf carts shimmered in red, white, and blue. Dogs wore star-spangled hats.

A firetruck led the way, blaring its horn, and a pickup with Uncle Sam followed behind, tossing candy to onlookers.

Following the procession down each street, everyone met at the park by the pool. After a reading of the Declaration of Independence, there was lunch and a pie-eating contest.

And then came the inevitable big splash competition. An epic showdown featuring children and adults, all graded on who got the biggest cheers.

The only thing louder than fireworks? A dad belly-flopping in front of 150 neighbors.

After almost a decade in that community, we moved away seven years ago. But those memories feel like yesterday, resurrected every July 4th.

Turns out the best part of the Fourth never lit up the sky.