Sunday, July 7, 2019

The Grandest Marshall Ever! Happy 4th!

Someone was Queen for a day...although she's a queen every day in our book!  July 4th found me in my old neighborhood with family celebrating and honoring our fabulous country and my fabulous Mom.  She was Grand Marshall for the July 4th parade.  She shared those honors with her friend and neighbor, Mary Lou. They both have lived in the neighborhood the longest and were the ones who started the original parade back in the 50's.
Here's my sister and I at one of the original parades. I imagine we were celebrating Hawaii being a state.   There hadn't been a parade for about 10 years and my sister's daughter Amy, who lives in the same neighborhood now, decided it was time to do this again.  She organized it, raised funds from local businesses, and got the Mayor's approval.  With help from family and friends she pulled it off.
Good job Amy! She's a nurse and knows how to get things done!  It was a typical July day here, hot and humid but we had fun anyway.
Besides businesses and other organizations marching, it was great to see neighbors and kids decorating bikes, strollers or just walking in the parade like we used to back in the day.
Truly made it a neighborhood gathering and sharing and celebrating.
My niece, Katie rode along in her squad car....Check out this dog gone cutie who rode with her..her daughter, Brooke! Katie does a Dare program for the schools and this is the mascot. Thankfully Brooke didn't have to walk in the heat with that on!
It was a fun, tiring and hot day, but Mom and her friend, Mary Lou enjoyed it!
Mary Lou is 96, Mom is 93...both lovely and fun ladies! To end the day and this post, I hope everyone had a great 4th and weekend.  Jack was at Boy Scout Camp for the 30th year...more on that at another post!
We watched fireworks from Mom's driveway...Boom!



11 comments:

Julia said...

A beautiful post. I enjoyed seeing your mom, the Parade Marshall. She looks really regal in her tiara. You must all be so proud of her and good for your sister to pull that off. You have an amazing family.
Hugs, Julia

betty said...

Oh how fun! Loved that your sister got the parade going again and that your mom and her friend were the grand marshals for it! Looked like such a nice event with a great turn out! I look forward to your next post because I thought Jack was getting out of the scouts.

Looked like it was a great 4th of July for you and yours!

betty

Gin said...

Oh wow I love this post! Hooray for Amy for her great leadership. Your mom and Mrs Mary Lou are beautiful as the queens of the parade. I know you ave your sister enjoyed this day. Your picture of the past is cute of you two.

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi, YaYa!

What a wonderful honor for your dear mother and for her friend and neighbor Mary Lou to ride as Grand Marshall's in the July 4 parade! Congratulations to both of those fine ladies and to your niece Amy for conceiving of the idea and working hard to make it happen. I swear your mother doesn't age one bit from one year to the next. In fact, I think she's getting younger looking! I am delighted to see the picture of you and your sister as children. So much promise fulfilled, Kathleen! It's good to see niece Katie and her daughter Brooke in the mascot costume. Looks like you had a great view of the fireworks display at the end of the day and clear weather for the event. I hope your mother and Mary Lou will be honored with a parade in the future as they were this year. They are symbols of longevity, stability and love of community. I hope Jack and the boys had fun at their scout jamboree. I also hope there were no intense t-storms for them to deal with this year as there were other years.

Enjoy the week ahead, dear friend YaYa!

jack69 said...

I LOVE IT! 96 & 93 wow. It is hard to imagine two neighbors surviving that long. WHAT a thrill to them I am sure. I love a parade where every Joe and Mary can decorate something and be in a parade. Thanks for posting this. GOOD STUFF!
Love this,
Sherry & jack

acorn hollow said...

what fun! I love home town parades they are the best.
Cathy

Andrea Ostapovitch said...

It looks like it was a fantastic day. How wonderful for the ladies to be honoured like that.

Have a wonderful week ahead!
Andrea

Prims By The Water said...

How fun for the founding ladies to be a part of the parade again. Solove a good parade and yours looked so fun! Janice

Kay G. said...

If your Mom is a Queen, you must be a princess!
How lovely that your Mom and her neighbor were both Queens of the Parade!
They are both gorgeous ladies.
Stay cool! xxx

CHERI said...

Your mom looks absolutely adorable!!! What a special day for her. And the parade looks like so much fun. I love things like this...just good old hometown fun. Our small town has a wonderful fireworks display every 4th and this year it was better than ever. So many people come out; park on the side of the road or in fields; and just enjoy every moment:)

Noi said...

Interesting thoughts, I really enjoyed your blog