4th of July was always a big deal in our house growing up.My memories are filled with American flag cakes, parties for all of our friends, and not to mention the traditional grilling out of every kind of red meat we could get our hands on!Our upbringing was anything but traditional.My sister (fellow Mac Kid Publisher, Kim) and I have lived just about everywhere it seems!One of my strongest memories of 4th of July was spent in India.Because we spent much of our younger years in foreign countries, it was a high priority for our parents to instill in us a deep understanding and value of what it really means to be an American! We saw first-hand how blessed we were to be born with all of the freedoms that are afforded to us.I can remember it seeming like a fairy tale that women were equal to men and didn’t HAVE to walk a certain number of steps behind men if they chose not to.I also remember coming back to the United States and seeing a woman dressed in traditional Indian attire and questioning my mom about why she would do that if she didn’t have to.She very eloquently explained that living here meant people could choose to dress, act, believe and dream whatever they wanted! Many of us our afraid of turning into our mother’s but I have been waiting for years to use this line on my kids!It just so perfectly illustrated what our Founding Fathers fought to start and what our soldiers that have fought to keep.One of the measures for myself of being a successful parent is instilling that same American pride in my kids that my parents instilled in us.This year for 4th of July I plan on having an American flag cupcakes, friends by my side and grilling all kinds of red meat (and probably some chicken or vegetables too) but I will also take the time to talk to my kids about what it really means to be an American and that they can dress, act, believe and dream whateverthey want because they have the privilege of being a proud citizen of the United States of America!
My parents with my 2 children making 4th of July treats!!
