What a blast!

You just never know when things will go well.
I did not have high expectations for the July 4th holiday. But surprise, I had a great time. I climbed out of bed at about 7 a.m. and started working on a scrap page for a fellow Ya-Ya (she has commissioned me to do pages for her and I’ve been falling behind). I was just starting to make progress when I heard the cat scratching around at the window. Then A--- looked out the window and announced she had a bird in the window well. Great, just great.
L---- fetched the cat in the house and locked her door. Then went and told DH about the trapped bird. I went upstairs to see what was going on and noticed the time. It was 8:55 a.m. The parade was starting at 9 a.m. I was nowhere near dressed and A--- had been talking non-stop all day yesterday about getting candy at the parade.
I threw on some clothes and jumped in the car, hoping to catch the tail end of the parade and get A--- a couple pieces of salt water taffy. We live in a small town, so the parades are not impressive. But we don’t usually have to wait on the street overnight to get a good spot, either.
None-the-less, I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be much fun. While I was driving and looking for a parking spot I saw Ya-Ya Running Mascara (winner of the first place page contest ahead of me) and her family walking toward the parade route. I asked her if she would take A--- with her while I found a place to park and she agreed.
When I caught up to her she and her extended family were in a prime spot at the beginning of the parade route, in the shade, with lawn chairs. She had a couple extra for me, too. Apparently her family has “their spot” where they park cars loaded with lawn chairs overnight. They’ve been using the spot for many, many years. It was a blast.
A--- and her two boys, a few years younger than my son collected candy, water bottles, flying disks ~ all kinds of goodies. By the end of the parade he had a grocery bag full of goodies.
But after we came home from the parade it started to thunder, lightening and pour rain. We had an inch fall ~ which is outrageous in the desert. A--- was tremendously disappointed when we told him we probably wouldn’t be able to go to the fireworks.
Usually we attend the pyrotechnic display sponsored by our town. The show takes place at a recreation complex outside of town and people park along the side of the road in the weeds to watch the display
This year we decided to go to the town down the road, about 12 miles away, where DH teaches school. Running Mascara told me the best place to park and set up blankets to watch the pyrotechnics.
The rain cleared up, so we took our tarp and a few blankets and went exploring. Sure enough, the recommended spot was much more comfortable than the weeds along the highway. I brought my camera and a tripod and set it up while DH and A--- walked to the local convenience store to pick up some soda and treats.
The fireworks were fantastic, but to me, the best time was being able to shoot them. I managed to get some really cool shots.
This leads me back to my original point.
I can plan, and plot and make all kinds of arrangements, and things go terribly wrong. Or I can just jump in the car and have a day of serendipity. Then again, Running Mascara’s family has had a plan for the best parade spot for years, and it worked well for them. Sometimes life is just too random for me to understand. But I do enjoy those happy moments.