The Fourth of July is long gone here in the states but the celebration in each city or town are always full of joy. This summer marked our son’s first experience of the parade and we think he certainly had a good time. It wasn’t raining or stormy (which is always a plus) and the temperatures weren’t the three-digit highs they could have been. All in all it was a perfect first parade experience for our son and it introduced him to many new things (in many new contexts).
Despite the nice weather my family is full of pale-skinned folk. While we’re not quite like the vampires of recent film and literature fame we’re certainly not prone to tanning. While Mom can certainly get a tan, Dad (and we feared the baby also) are prone to, at best, burns that don’t hurt. We were armed, however, with umbrellas and a stroller with so many features that the cartoon characters of my youth would have been jealous. We found a nice spot somewhat away from the road the parade was to be on. What it lacked in proximity it reclaimed in the shade of a nearby tree.
When the sirens and cars began approaching though there was necessity to move forward. By this point our son was already asleep from waiting for the parade to start. It didn’t take long though. As marching bands, martial arts camps, cheerleaders and antique automobiles passed he awoke and stared in great wonder at what was before his eyes and assaulting his ears. He learned a great deal though. There were lots of interesting people to look at and lots of chances to examine cars close up. Parades move at a snails pace and this provided our son the ability to add a little context to the vehicles normally speeding by on our street. Sometimes, I guess, you just need to take it a little slower to understand a little better. The parade provided lots of opportunity for elongated examinations.