One Happy Dog Speaks

Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because that is the day when the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.

While researching Independence Day… I liked this synopsis best:

The Declaration of Independence has five parts. They are the Preamble, the Statement of Human Rights, Charges Against Human Rights, Charges Against the King and Parliament, and the Statement of Separation and Signatures.

The main purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to announce the colonies separation from England. It also stated the principles that were the foundation for seeking independence.

The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These ideas would be expressed again in the new republic’s Constitution. These ideas form the basis of our beliefs about the role of our government in our lives today.

Yet I found this site for kids and was fascinated by the wording.

We think these things are obviously true:

That all men are created equal
That all men have some rights given to them by God
That among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

So whenever any government is getting in the way of these rights, people have the right to change it or get rid of it, and to make a new government, in whatever way seems most likely to make them safe and happy.

People should not change their government without a good reason, so people usually suffer as long as they can under the government they have, rather than change it. But when there have been a lot of problems for a long time, it is their right and their duty to throw off that government, and to set up a better government.

And it reminded me of the story of the pigs to slaughter… you remember… they kept putting food out for wild pigs… when they got use to it they built one wall. When they got use to the wall, the build the next and so on until they could close the gate and slaughter them… How long will people suffer before change occurs?

I love this country. And I’m proud to be a USA citizen!

Sigh. I have had company all week. Loving it. Just been hard dealing with the bronchitis, kids and friends all after having a week of traveling. Still… I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It has been happy. It still is happy. And one more fun thing is tomorrow. Camping. Yep, we are going to my favorite place. Scout Island. It is soooo relaxing. I love it. We are not staying over night this time though I wish we could. I’m afraid it will put me in the hospital since my bronchitis is still here. Not up to that. We are going to drive up there and enjoy it though. Yep, life is good.

Yep, the post is later than usual because I got to sleep in until 6am. It is a holiday, Rosh HaShanah. My understanding is that is the Jewish New Year. A time of reflection and to wish those you meet that they have a good year. I like that. Not being jewish, I’m sure there is a lot more to this. But from my limited understanding… I hope you have a good year!

A day of labor right? Laundry, homework, dishes, and tons of stuff to do. Oh wait, if you look it up at the US Government site it says:

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Basically, I like the idea I heard that it was the end of Summer Blowout. Schools starts back, the winter is coming, taxes are coming due… so let’s take one last day to relax before it all happens. Except in my household, I’m doing chores, the boys finished their homework, and my hubby is at work. Yep… Labor day… is just that. A day of physical or mental work. Off to play legos with the boys before the laundry bell rings!

Busy making food, keeping the kids from going crazy and visiting the in-laws. Life is good. Hope you and yours are enjoying each other and life as well.

Wow. We had enough food to feed an army and there was 7 of us. The best fat burners I found were going outside to walk around. The heat and humidity just dropped the weight off of you. Ugh… But back to our July 4th…

Here is the start of the day… not much on the table yet…

Not much on the kitchen counters…

Yet the boys were smart…. they kept out of my way…

After all was done and I was visiting with R, the boys also kept out of the way…

The food got cleaned up and put away… except for this:

Yep… it was a wonderful time. I like holidays like this!

Hope you and yours are having a great Thanksgiving today!