Why I celebrate America Everyday

   The 4th of July holiday weekend has come and gone. The decorations have been discounted and school supplies has taken its place on the shelves. Girls have put away their American flag shorts and taken off their blue and red nail polish; boys have put their 'Mericas chubbies away. We now wait another 364 days for another celebration of America's birthday.
   While some people wait for holidays and three day weekends for barbecues, endless instagram selfies, and some quote on Facebook/Twitter that talks about how great America is, there are some of us who wake up and celebrate the land of the free everyday.
   Each morning I wake up in my 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath town home with basement and bonus room on the largest military base in the free world. Come visit us in our home and you will find a vast majority of red, white, and blue. From the kitchen, to my red bathroom towels (plus navy & white shower curtain), and the handkerchief quilt on our bed, you can pretty much see my love of the US of A. And let's not even get started on the fact that half of my clothes are in red, white, or blue (the cowboy boots I got married in anyone?).
   My husband wakes up at 5:10, goes to PT, then comes home where he puts on his ACUs (complete with 1st Cav. patch and American flag), and goes back to the company where he spends his day working until 5pm Monday through Friday. Sometimes he is away for a week at a time, sometimes he will be gone for months, but I am so blessed to be married to a man who serves our country.
   A country in which I am free to serve a mighty God. A God who continually pursues His people even when we fall so far away from His Word that our nation was founded on. A country in which as a woman I am able to vote and was able to receive a free education. Where I was not refused the right to go to school because my parents could not afford it or because I was needed more at home. A country that fights to give other nations the same basic human rights we so often take for granted. Our Founding Fathers knew exactly what they were doing in 1776, when they chose to shake up the world in order to pursue happiness. Thirteen colonies took a huge risk, and over the next 6 (almost 7) years they would fight to defend their Declaration that took over a year to prepare for and write. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most reproduced and inspiring political documents in the world. How many of us have taken the time to read it besides the little excerpts we read in U.S History, Government, or American Literature class in high school/college? I would venture to say very few, even more so many of us probably don't even remember what we read. Soon after it was written, the Declaration of Independence was mass produced and spread throughout the colonies. People took the time to read it! Our ancestors took the time to read the many reasons why they left and separated from England, most would read it every 4th of July from then on. It is still the most inspiring and copied political document in the world. Fun Fact: Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 50th anniversary of the 4th of July.
   Needless to say, we are beyond blessed to live in America and we take that for granted. Since 1870, when Congress made the 4th a national holiday and 1938 when again Congress made it paid holiday for federal employees, we have made the 4th a day of fireworks, picnics and Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest (that started in 1916). We love parades, carnivals, and downtown celebrations. We get together with family and friends to celebrate the day that we told England we were better off on our own. Then we wait for the next three day weekend to barbecue, and wait until the next year to do it all again. I however, will choose to revere America everyday. I celebrate America everyday for my husband and all the many who serve/have served over the past 238 years to defend all that we have here, for all those who are currently deployed (R.E.D. Fridays anyone?), for our ancestors that took a risk coming to a new land, for our freedom we experience daily, and for the men who wrote an amazing document that shaped the course of history. I celebrate America.