Labor Day

This will be pretty brief, because I am in full freelance mode. I noticed all the other bloggers I have read also took Labor Day weekend off so I don't feel so bad about my absence!

I took AJ to the Labor Day parade, her first parade. We happened to bump into friends from playgroup so it was nice that we had someone to experience it with - especially since we've been missing AP as he works his butt off.

Anyway, I almost cried at the parade. Something about it just took me back to my childhood, a time to which I can never return. When we went to parades, the fire trucks, and the communities from which they came, were always the big thing for me. Pittsburgh's suburbs are all served by volunteer fire departments, and with my dad and uncle involved we always had the fire department in our lives. It was a huge thrill (albeit very rare) when my dad took me on calls. And now when I return home for a visit, my dad and uncle and I take AJY to see the trucks sitting at the station. They've both stepped down from fire fighters to fire police, but they're still involved, still volunteering. So it's an important part of my childhood - one that the Labor Day parade called into mind, I guess.

Another highlight of the parade was that we got a year's worth of dum-dums. Warning: if you come to my house this Halloween I will be passing out Labor Day parade candy. I couldn't believe how much we got. AJY loved the marching bands and she waved at practically everyone, even the coroner (or was it candidate for coroner?) riding the parade route in his car.

I almost didn't go and I'm so glad that we did. I'm just sorry I forgot my camera!