Tales of a Fourth Grade Something: Part II: Tradition and Change

Have you ever had a family tradition that you count on and then suddenly one year it changes? That’s what happened to me this 4th of July, and I’m going to tell you all about it.

One tradition that didn’t change was my family went to Blossom Music Center to see the Cleveland Orchestra play and watch fireworks the night before the 4th. Sometimes we go with friends and family and sometimes just us. This year we went with family and friends on July 3rd and it was spectacular.

Another tradition we have is we go to my aunt and uncle’s farm for the afternoon of the 4th. All of my mom’s relatives come too, and I play with my cousins in the barn, the yard and sometimes in their neighbor’s small lake. My uncle drives us around in his lawn tractor from the house, around the barn, and back. We stay for dinner and dessert and then drive home. But this year that didn’t work out and I was disappointed.

But instead of that, my friend since kindergarten invited my family to her backyard pool for the afternoon. We also jumped on her trampoline and made a waterslide on her playset. That was a change, and even though I missed the farm and my relatives, I had a lot of fun.

Also, every year we go to the Bay Village fireworks. We walk from our house with neighbors to the Nature Center and sit in a big field with trees surrounding it. We bring snacks, balls to throw and glo-sticks for when it gets dark. But this year we didn’t do that, either.

Instead we drove to another friend’s house for a cookout and to watch the fireworks. This friend lives on Cahoon Road and can see the fireworks from her neighbor’s driveway. We played kickball, monkey tag and other games. As it got dark, we headed over to the neighbor's driveway for the fireworks. I missed my neighbors but I enjoyed spending the night of the 4th with my friends and their families.

After this 4th of July weekend I learned something. Sometimes you can get tired of traditions and want a change. Other times you don’t want to change and want to hang on to your traditions. I didn’t really want to change my 4th of July traditions this year, but the changes ended up being good ones. I’m glad I tried some new things. Maybe, I’ve even started some new traditions...

(Oh, by the way, I forgot to write in my summer plans column that I’m continuing piano lessons, and my piano teacher, Mrs. Judy Minium, couldn’t help but notice that I left that off the list. Mrs. Minium, don’t worry I am practicing!)