Will’s Top 3 holidays were the 4th of July…
…Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The reasons behind these holidays are just some of what made Will so special.
4th of July: “It’s the perfect celebration. BBQ, friends, family, and fireworks.” You get to eat really good food and hang out more with the friends who he was bonded with for life. “And you get to blow shit up”.
So many of our 4 th ’s have been spent in Montana with our family there. We’ve celebrated at home with just the 4 of us. Eventually when he was old enough to be trusted to be respectful with his friends and their families, he was usually at Nate’s or Dylan’s, or any of his other friends and their families.
One year, we took the kids to Las Vegas on the 5 th of July. That early morning pickup was not fun. Fireworks until 1:00am and then most likely a 5:00am airport shuttle to pick up The Hardy’s who had probably already fought with each other 15 times by then and hadn’t gotten any good sleep. But we made it to Vegas. Stayed the week at The Venetian where none of us could get our bearings. Except for Will. He was always guiding Maddi and Jeff to coffee in the mornings. He remembered the separate hallway that had the correct elevators to make it to the pool. He got his photo taken with his sister with Elvis, Showgirls, probably a character or five, and spotted the candy shops and Serendipity before we did. Where of course we all ordered our own giant sundaes and shared them together and didn’t finish and it didn’t matter.
One 4 th we watched the fireworks on Lake Meridian on our friends’ roof of their home. Will loved it. Will was at home outside of any comfort zone. He would walk Vegas, Mexico, Montana. He was always in his element when he was his own navigator.
The 4th is different for us now. Everything is. In 2023, we had Will’s memorial and two days later hightailed it to Montana. I just needed out. Out of it all even for a holiday. One of his favorites. I still feel guilty.
But the 4th was never something I cared about. It marks the beginning of mine and my husband’s relationship…..ish.. lol. It’s fun. We still go to Montana and we spend time with our insanity together. For better or for worse we are sticking together!
Everything we do now on the 4th of July is in my heart and mind, For Will. The touristy, outdoorsy, celebratory foods, friends and festivities I keep Will at the forefront of my mind.
Next year, I hope you are able to enjoy the food, and blow some shit up in Will’s memory.
XOXO,
B
