Celebrate Summer

In the United States, we celebrate our country's Independence on the Fourth of July. We have yummy family picnics of grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, and cookies decorated in red, white, and blue icing. At sundown, the community provides an explosive fireworks display. 

Tucker loved every opportunity to get together with family and friends. In the first book, Tucker McBride, a special guest came into the backyard on the fourth. 

Who would you want to attend a summer party at your house? What is unique about them? What activities would you plan? What would you remember to tell them?

One activity people enjoyed in Tucker's childhood was croquet. Players drove wooden balls through a course of metal U-shaped points called wickets from one end of the yard to the other. The mallet and ball are colored to match, so each player recognizes their own ball.

As a child, I'd fly out the front door after lunch, hitting only a few of the steps to the driveway and across to the side yard where the croquet game stood ready every summer day. Neighbor friends would gather for a round. Sometimes, even the boy down the street would drop his bicycle at the edge of the yard. He'd stroll into the yard, select a mallet from the equipment stand, and join in a game. He was three or four years older, so it seemed a privilege that an older boy would take time to play a game with my friends and me. 

On the fourth, we'd join cousins, aunts, and uncles at Old River, the company park for the NCR. The evening fireworks were the best in town. 

It's your turn. Write about your special summer day. I'd love to see some of your ideas.