My brother and I take turns hosting the 4th of July party.
Last year, was supposed to be my brother’s turn, but his wife went into labor.
There was no way she was going to host a party when the baby was only a week old. She wouldn’t be up to it, and the baby didn’t need strangers hanging around her. She said she would help at my house, but I told her that showing up would be great, but I wasn’t allowing her to do anything. The day of the picnic started out warm and sunny. I lay the food out on the patio tables, where we had portable air conditioners. My husband and his brother were cooking burgers, steaks, hot dogs, and shrimp on the BBQ. By the time the guests had all arrived, the temperatures had climbed into the nineties. No one wanted to be outside, because the humidity was as high as the temperatures. We moved all the food into the kitchen so it could stay refrigerated and took all the folding chairs onto the patio. We could be outside, while still being inside, and enjoying air conditioning. Grandma was happy that she didn’t need to sit in the sun. We all knew she minded the heat and humidity even more now that she was older. We spent most of the day in the house with the air conditioning, but we still had a great time. Who said a picnic isn’t a picnic if it’s held indoors. The kids played hide and seek in the air-conditioned basement when they weren’t playing video games, pool, or some other game that was hidden away down there.