Today is the parade. It happens to go right past my parent's house, so again, we'll all gather there. Of course, I will cause us to be late which means we will have to wind all over the place to get around all of the parade participants and floats and dad will be standing at the top of the hill, on the porch stoop, anxiously checking his watch at 15 second intervals and fretting that we'll never get through. By the time we get there, he'll direct us into the past parking spot he's made on his lawn or up by the garage, since no one can park on the street (although late-comers WILL park on the street and he'll be driven mad by that!).

We'll be missing a few of the family this year. Finchie and Eldest took off this morning with Brother in law for North Carolina to participate in a Habitat for Humanity Project, their baseball mitts left behind, tossed carelessly beside the front door. They'll be with us in spirit.

After a week of rain and storms, the skies are blue today, and the high should be around 80 with almost no humidity. The grass is soft and bright green, and the flowers bright and tall. As we sit on the tree bank under the shade of the Magnolia and giant Oak trees, youngest niece will be out there with a bag, begging and catching and gathering all of the cheap crappy candy that they throw out. And when they don't throw any, I'll start begging too. Hey! I have to keep my status of favorite aunt! About 1/3 of the people in the parade will know my dad, and he makes a point of yelling out to each one, waving proudly. A lifetime of being a mailman in this town and now as school crossing guard and Ace Hardware Man (as well his work with National Night Out and other volunteer committees) has secured his place as one of our town's "Most Recognized Faces."

We'll all stand with each passing flag sandwiched between 30+ fire trucks and the street sweepers. We'll stand and applaud as our local soldiers march by. And when it's all over, we'll continue to sit and eat way too much food, and familiar faces that walk by will be invited to join us and eventually the nieces and nephews will engage in either a game of whiffle ball (using the trees as bases) or one of their famous rousing and never-ending games of "Careers," which was purchased a few years back at a garage sale for a quarter.

And a days' end, we'll hug each other and take hours to actually leave.

Mayberry is a state of mind, not geography.

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