July 4, 2011

I am sitting at the beach, as I have done for the past ten 4th of Julys... I am thinking about Amy and Garrett being on a deck on Cape Cod, in a similar scene, hanging out with Garrett's family, having a drink on a beautiful summer night. But this years holiday falls 7 days before they start a year of chemotherapy and radiation for Charlie....hard to grasp this reality with the sounds of fireworks going off over the bay and nieces and nephews hula hooping and running around with sparklers. I think about Amy's 6 siblings and parents, Garrett's parents, Amy and Garrett's college and high school friends, Their Barrington friends, all in different areas of the country, having a drink on a deck somewhere and wondering why  the beer they are drinking tastes different than last year's. It is because this 4th of July, if you love Charlie Ames, everything is different.