Rodney M Bliss

When Your Kids Are Part Of The Celebrations

It was a busy weekend. And there was a little bit of everything for everybody.

Let’s start with the obvious. It was Father’s Day on Sunday. And I am blessed to have all my kids in the state. My wonderful daughter is back from her deployment in South Korea. And a lot of other kids came by as well. And the family BBQ was well attended by grandkids as well.

I got some very thoughtful gifts. We had great food and there was no drama. Some of my kids didn’t make it, but with 13 I’m not sure they will ever all make it.

Plus, Sunday was Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the day (June 19, 1865) when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed the last group of slaves that they were free. Many of my children and grandchildren are black. We don’t make a huge deal about Juneteenth, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand what a big deal it is.

And June is Pride month. None of my immediate family are members of the LGBTQ community. But, extended family and friends are. Lots of celebrations.

But, this has also been the Pleasant Grove city celebration, Strawberry Days. Not only is Strawberry Days a 101 year old tradition, this year was extra special for the Bliss family. My beautiful daughter Ruth is a member of the Strawberry Days royalty.

The parade was Saturday morning. It was a proud moment to see Ruth on the Pleasant Grove float. But, there was another Bliss descendant in the parade. My grandson was voted one of the cutest babies. He and his mother got to be in the parade too.

And then, Saturday night we attended the Strawberry Days Rodeo. And the rodeo starts with mutton busting. Little kids ride sheep and get judged. One of the mutton busters was my grandson. He made it about 3 seconds. But, then, he’s 5 years old. I expect he’ll be back next year.

His sister is also part of the city festivals, just not Pleasant Grove’s. She is in the Spanish Fork Mini-Miss royalty. Their parade is next month.

Good thing, because June has become pretty full.

Stay safe

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here

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