Years ago we were at our local community 4th of July parade and it was decided that candy would no longer be passed out to the children watching the parade. The look on Cole’s face was so pathetic! It was then and there that I promised Cole I would give him a true traditional 4th of July in the town I grew up in. I described in detail how the streets were packed with people, dogs and flags up and down the street. Red, White and Blue could not escape the eye. Following the parade a big barbeque was at hand followed by the walk to Lake Ellyn were you could lie on the ground and watch in awe as the fireworks fell from the sky right above your head.
This year was going to be the year that we delivered an old-fashioned 4th of July to our kids. I woke up in my parents’ house one morning to find the newspaper on the counter flipped to the 4th of July activities for the area. My eyes honed in on Glen Ellyn where I read, “Starting at 6am people can place their blankets and chairs at the lake for the firework festivities.” Right then and there I knew that is where I would be the next morning.
It is 5:30am 4th of July morning. Blankets in, check, chairs in, check, Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand, check, and the radio tuned to the best radio station ever, 93.1 XRT. Lake Ellyn is about a 15 minute drive from my parents’ house, so as I get close I recognize that I will be about 10 minutes early. No problem, I’ll sit in the car, drink my coffee, listen to my music and start the countdown. On no, I pull up at 5:50am and there are blankets and chairs already set up. WHAT? What about the rules! No time to waste. I run to the back of the car, grab all of the necessities and walk as fast as I can without looking like a lunatic. In my mind I wanted to run as fast as I could. There was no way that we were going to have a mediocre spot! Needless to say, I got a great spot and couldn’t wait to see my kids’ reactions later that night.
I get back to the car and find a text on my phone from my cousin who lives in Glen Ellyn. She was hosting our barbeque that day and was questioning if I was up already. Of course I responded by bragging about the awesome spot I scored. She responded back questioning if I wanted to put some chairs along the parade route. Now when I was growing up, the parade was crowded, but some how we always found a way to have a great spot without having to stake out our territory. I pull along the parade route and sure enough there are little islands of blankets and chairs everywhere. I text my cousin back and head her way to get some chairs.
On the way to her house I scope out a great spot on Main Street. I get the chairs from my cousin, hold her 4 month-old son in my arms for a minute (cutest baby ever), and then remind myself I’m on a mission. I head back to Main Street to discover that half of my ideal spot is taken. Yes, taken all in the 5 minutes it took me to get the chairs. I park the car, set up our camp on the remaining space that is left, and head back to my parents knowing that this was going to be one of the best 4th of July’s our family has had. When all of the festivities were over I asked Cole what he thought and he responded, “That was so worth it!” My thoughts exactly!
My adrenaline rush and persistence in securing the best spots for my family that day made me think about an outing we had last week. My husband and I took Cole to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center which opened in the town of Skokie a couple of years ago. I could go into great detail about our experience but at this point it feels to overwhelming to do so.
Here is one thought that I had. How would I respond if I were in that situation? I can’t imagine not having the ability to provide food, a bed, adequate shelter and proper dignity and protection for my kids. Would I become greedy and take all that I could get? Would I encourage my kids to do so? Would we become creative and think around the system? Would we have the strength and will to survive or would we give-up and give-in?
I think about how I responded the morning of 4th of July. I wasn’t going to let my family down. There was a point during the parade that a man specifically walked up to my kids and hand delivered bottled waters to them. After thanking the man. I suggested the kids give them to the kids standing next to them who didn’t receive any. We all knew that we had bottled water sitting in our cooler 5 feet away. Would I have suggested sharing the water if we didn’t have our own waiting for us?
Our family is good at volunteering our time and resources, but would we be so giving if our basic needs were not being met? If we were in one of the concentration camps would we be sharing our food with others who had not received any, or would we focus on taking care of ourselves? It is easy to be generous when one has plenty, but what about when one has almost nothing?
Here is a statement I remember from our visit at the museum. It may not be exact word for word, but it goes something like this, “The survivors were the ones who not only thought of themselves, they were the ones who shared what they had. The people who did not give, did not survive the holocaust.”
So true…even outside of the barbed wire walls of the camps.
Rise and Shine!
Rise and Shine Girl Blog 