Happy, Happy Fourth of July! What an impactful holiday...my kids learned so much. I hope they learned more history and pride than they did the terrible nature of mankind. Ugh.

We started out our day going to the Parade. In our small town, it is a HUGE deal - even covered by Denver's News Channels. So, of course we go. Every year. And every year it is the same fight to find a place to set up our little family in a way that the kids can enjoy the floats and marching bands, and we can enjoy the kids enjoying. The best place (and traditional too!) for all the local children is on the curb while the parents hang back on the grass. However today, as my sweetums looked for a place by the curb to clump, they could find nowhere that an adult would let them stay. One gentleman made them cry...told them to VAMOOSE! He was saving that spot for HIS kids, and they would need to move on. Turns out his kids were adults, too. You should have seen the look on my babies' faces. So betrayed. Who does that? To boot, they only needed half the space he was saving. Do you think he moved his impressively large blanket so that children could even get near the floats? Nope. Jerk. So proud to have him as a fellow citizen.

A few minutes in to the parade, Jer got a call from his mom. She had fallen on her face and needed him to take her to the ER. Now, the 4th is a terrible day for Jer anyway because it is the day he unplugged his father from life support 11 years ago. This event with his mother completely sent him over the edge. He still has no idea how to grieve or even how to express his feelings, so everything comes tumbling out in anger and rage at whoever is closest. Today that was me. Flying ultimatums, threats and sarcasm...it is just too much. I am noticing more and more that I don't feel anything but disgust. And that I welcome him saying that he is going to leave... I am dreadfully ashamed to admit that I feel that way. And I am ashamed that I am already making plans for how I will construct my life when he does leave.

Blech.

We ended the day by going to the fireworks without him, left him home asleep. I truly believe that he went to bed to escape himself. And we had a really good time! Truly a nice ending for the kids and I...

OH! The neighbors! Well, apparantly the City came by and cited them for excessive rubbish and warned them about the excessive dogs and the excessive vehicles (and the parking on the lawn) and the excessive noise. Which they (rightfully) assumed originated with a complaint from us. As I was walking home from work on Monday, I was impressed by how clean and quiet everything was...wondered what it all meant. Until their car pulled around the corner and one of the women who lives there hollers to me, "HAPPY NOW?" I ignored her...but yeah. I am happy. Today they even made me howl with laughter as we could hear their mean, scary pit bull fight with the other dogs. That isn't the part that is funny- that is disturbing to listen to. But then the ragechallengedfreak that likes to yell profanity at all hours of the day and smash things in his tantrums tried to break up the fight. HAHA! The pit bull BIT him! After all the calls to the Animal Control to get this dangerous dog taken care of with no result at all...the biting of his master did him in. The pit bull moved out this afternoon. Life is gonna be real nice in my hood once more.

Perhaps the Mean Guy at the parade will just happen to be looking for a dog in the next couple of days...;)