"Firecrackers"

As we’re all heading into the parties and fireworks leading up to the Fourth of July, you may be feeling a little bit of what I’m feeling.

It’s the weekend to celebrate our country that we share.

I don’t remember a Fourth of July where I felt this way – or where our country, as a whole, felt this way.

It’s a time of reflection for all of us.

I remember how I felt as an eighth grader – it was right around this time of year.  A handful of families were gathered around our dinky, flickering, kind-of-color TV. 

We collectively watched American astronauts take the first steps on the moon.  We watched them plant the American flag.

It’s that America that I’m still holding on to.  Wanting to believe in.

There sure is a lot of churn underneath the day-to-day of our lives.  Inflation, Ukraine, the environment, interest rates, hate crimes, escalating global tensions, and anxiousness around AI.  It’s a lot. 

Add to the mix the most politically divisive years I can ever remember. 

We’re a car stuck in the mud, and the wheels are just spinning.

The internet, social media, and 24/7 stories on our phones don’t help.  It seems the more we peel back the onion of who everyone is in our country, the more we discover how profoundly differently we think about so many things.

It seems we’re all hoping young, bright, passionate, provocative, selfless leaders emerge. 

Following in the heartbeats of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin.  In the heartbeats of a young Lincoln and Kennedy.

And may they inspire and lift us all.  To once again find a singular dream and intention.

In sports, when you get in a rut like this, a team takes a ‘time-out.’ 

Half the trick with time-outs is knowing when to call ‘em.

If you do them at the right time, they’re just what you need.