4th of July

It's July 4th and I'm sitting on my front porch in the fading twilight, listening to fireworks explode, near and far, with Sly and the Family Stone's "It's a Family Affair" as background music from a party up the alley across the street.  I just took my first sip of a Yazoo Hefeweizen, fresh from a growler I filled up this afternoon at the Yazoo Brewery on Division Street.

Just another summer night in the city, albeit a summer night that feels like early fall.  For some crazy reason, the high temperature today was 81 degrees - on July 4th!  Right now, it's 71 degrees.  The crescent moon is peaking at me between the leaves of my stately old maple tree and crickets are chirping loudly.  The boys are already asleep after a busy day and Jude is upstairs, reading in bed.

It's evenings like this that I'll really miss if and when we move out of the city.  I love the city sounds.  I love the physical closeness of my neighbors - next door, across the street or up the alley.  I love the sound of cars driving on Elliott Avenue in front of my house or up and down Acklen Avenue around the corner.  I love the sound of Engine #8, sirens blaring, when it leaves the station to go on a run.  I love all of it and I'll miss it terribly, I know.

But, I digress.  Busy, busy holiday today. 

This morning, I strolled Joe down to Sevier Park to meet Jude and J.P., who were playing tennis.  While Joe and I played on the playground with dozens of neighborhood children and their parents, J.P. defeated Jude in 3 "sets." (they have a unique scoring system in their tennis matches that I don't quite understand).  Jude and the boys strolled back home while I picked up lunch at the "secret Subway" around the corner from Belmont U. 

We ate lunch on the front porch and played a variation of a game we invented long ago, when J.P. was 2 or 3 years old.  We watched for cars passing in front of our house, with J.P. getting one point for every gray, green or white care and me getting one point for every red, blue or black car.  Sadly, he beat me 12-9, even though I thought I had stacked my lineup by choosing red and blue.  Who knew that almost everyone drives a gray or silver car?

At J.P.'s suggestion, we reenacted "the Music City Miracle" in the front yard over and over again, taking turns playing the parts of Lorenzo Neal (who fielded the kickoff and pitched it back), Frank Wycheck (who caught the pitch from Lorenzo Neal, ran to the right, then passed the football back across the field) and Kevin Dyson (who caught the pass and ran behind a convoy of blockers to the end zone.  Eat your heart out, Bills' fans, IT WAS NOT A FORWARD LATERAL.

Watch it right here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfz4JViRkoA

When Jude put Joe down for a nap, J.P. and I went on a hike - our first hike ever - in Shelby Bottoms.  It was really, really cool spending that time with J.P. and showing him the trails where I have probably run a thousand times over the past decade.  I don't get to Shelby Bottoms as much as I used to, but I love those trails.  J.P. raved and raved about how much fun it was to hike.  In particular, he liked how peaceful it was walking through the woods ("Beaver Woods," actually - I learned that today looking at a map of the trails with him).  For me, it was just really good father-son time, just the two of us.  Not watching a game on TV, not playing with the iPad or reading a book, just walking through the woods with backpacks on our backs. 

Toward the end of the return leg of our hike, he started to get tired, which was understandable, since we hiked 4+ miles.  Still, he held up like a champ.  When we arrived home, he talked Jude into playing soccer with him in the backyard.  It's crazy how much energy he has. 

For dinner, Jude cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, which were delicious.  Then, a final walk around the block, baths and bed.

That's a full day, don't you think?