This is the 4th of July, 2017. I can go back to various days just such as this with no photos needed to bring the memories of celebrations back as if yesterday. What did we do for the 4th of July celebration before Kevin was born . . . I have no clue, nothing jumps up.
Kevin’s first birthday brought a family picnic like no other. It started with a thought and before we knew it, suggestions were made throughout the relations and . . . yup, we would host the picnic. The picnic included the Schafer clan, the Riebe clan, the Wendlandt clan and friends and neighbors in between. On the farm in Boon Lake Township we had a sprawling grass lawn to the west that enjoyed shade and breezes from all directions.
Orlin’s nephews, Craig and Frank, came to stay with us several days before the 4th and they were in charge of the lawn mowing, the branch pickup duty and anything else that their uncle Orlin could think of. We were milking a herd of Holsteins at that time and the chores of the hogs and chickens kept us busy and we welcomed the help.
Before we knew it on the forenoon of the 4th, Frank and Craig were directing cars to park east and south of the circle drive in such a manner that no one was blocked in. Everyone who came unloaded chairs from their trunks and food that had been transported carefully. Empty 50 gallon drum barrels supported any and every plank that could be found, ready to have a table covering put onto it for a picnic food line. Everyone pitched in except Kevin. His job was to stay content on a blanket in the center of it all. It was a great day and it was decided to repeat it the next year . . . and oh ya . . . the little guy would be two.
The gathering did continue for quite a few years on. Frank and Craig stayed with us often during the summer months and were always a help. It didn’t hurt that Orlin had fixed up a wagon that I believe Kevin got for his second birthday from Orlin’s sister Mickie to pull behind the lawnmower for rides of the smaller kids. Kevin’s second birthday had him sporting the remains of the Chicken Pox. Uncle Norman would play the concertina and Grandma Schafer would chime right in with her harmonica. They both could play by ear and how they could bring about the old time music. Great Grandpa Christ kept time with the toe of his shoe on the soft grass. Friends, Otto and Evelyn, couldn’t believe there could be that much commotion spread over the entire yard. In Kevin’s baby book, I am quite sure there are memos of those picnics.
We had great family gatherings on the 4th with each one winding down with birthday cake, the birthday song and the thrill of birthday gifts for Kevin being opened. Soon people got busier, lived farther apart, their children married and had families and in-laws that also wanted to share time. That’s okay. I remember the feelings of those picnics after the day was done, being so weary it just felt great, it felt right. Without Kevin having been born on the 4th of July, each family may have indeed gone their own way to take in a picnic or some fireworks perhaps with no extended family participation. But . . . for those years of this huge family sharing space and time on a given 4th of July, I choose to believe it did make a difference. Not just for Orlin, me, Carrie and Kevin but for those who also may have a moment when they go back in their memories and reminisce of a quieter, softer time in life. Of course each of Kevin’s birthdays would have taken center stage when the special day in the special month had occurred, but we had an opportunity to open our home to welcome families that may not have had a chance to share time with so many in one afternoon.
It does give pause when I think of how many of those who spent time with us on those birthday celebrations are no longer with us.
I have always enjoyed my children’s birthdays even into their adulthood. The ability to spend that special day with them is many times not to be. It matters not. I hold them in my heart just as fiercely as when I held them for the very first time. Priceless.
