Day 4,458—Going to the July 4th Parade and Setting up for Fireworks!—

 

Start time: 7:58 a.m. and 12:57 p.m.

Weather: High 70s, wind 2.2 mi/h, Humidity 84%

I ran towards where I knew the parade would come. I wanted to get a good idea of where I wanted to set up. It is crazy how early all the areas will be taken up with chairs and blankets. Some of them are for the fireworks that night, but most are for the parade. I go back towards home, taking Edgar most of the way. I drive to put our chairs out over by the Schnucks. By the time my family arrived, we had over 20 minutes until the parade started, and it wouldn’t be almost an hour before we saw the first group pass by.

        The kids loved getting random free things from the local businesses and candy that we would have to sort through later. I was mostly relaxed, enjoying watching the different groups of people pass through. It is always interesting to see who shows up and what they’re doing. It doesn’t take much to get kids excited; the nice cars are usually enough to make my son excited, and my daughter is pleased by the treats and the rainbow fans. I wondered how many times everyone around me had been doing this, and I was glad I didn’t grow up going to the parade, so I could enjoy it for the first time with my kids.

        My second run, I ran back in my sandals with a blanket to save a spot for us to see the fireworks later. Once I felt light in my sandals, I decided I wouldn’t hesitate to run some in them during Vero Beach next week! Which is crazy; I didn’t start with that. Only 6 runs left until the Octopus Vero Beach 100! I liked the blankets' location, but I went back in my car to put out the chairs. Now it is raining, and I am worried that all that prep work will be for nothing or, even worse, cause me to run another errand, but it was worth it. I never cared about parades or fireworks for most of my life, but I like seeing other people happy. This will be my son’s first time seeing fireworks, unless they cancel!