Happy Independence Day

                                                                                                                         
                                                      

Somehow Happy 4th of July doesn’t seem strong enough to express the sentiment I’m feeling today.

Although the 4th of July is the significant date that we celebrate our country’s freedom, it is just that, a date, memorialized in time.

Happy Independence Day speaks louder than that. Independence … we all can identify with that word, whether you’re a teenager longing to be on your own, or someone who desires to live your life in your own way, or maybe a man/woman whose independence has been taken away because you broke the law.

Independence Day – these are the words that ignite the spirit of America. I can hear the national anthem playing, men and women fighting for our freedom, fireworks lighting up the sky and parents across America doing what they need to do to make life better for themselves and their children.

This is not a day celebrated by the faint of heart. This is a day we celebrate what it means to reach for your dreams, to be born in the land of opportunity or move here, so you can be a beneficiary of the freedom passed along to us by our founding fathers.

Every generation must do their part to sustain that freedom. It’s not a ‘given’. It’s something that we are responsible to nurture each day.

I am proud to be an American. I am blessed by my heritage and the opportunities that have been available to me. I am humbled by my responsibility to pass the torch of freedom to the next generation.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

Enjoy your day of celebration with family and friends.

May your eyes light up when the fireworks burst in the heavens.

Rejoice in your freedom!