A Date on a National Holiday

There’s a scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally in which Sally (played by Meg Ryan) tells her girlfriends over lunch that she and Joe just broke up. Her friend played by Carrie Fisher cannot believe it. “At least you had someone to go out with on national holidays,” she says. This year Rhonda and I decided to be each other’s “dates” on the Fourth of July, and we headed into Festival-land in the hopes of finding an outdoor concert and little arts and crafts booths filled with trinkets where we might buy cute one-of-a-kind baby things.

On the Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi River

We started in Minneapolis along Riverwalk and St. Anthony Main. This is a great little area with outdoor cafes that look out over the Mississippi River and downtown Minneapolis. Both Rhonda and I used to hang out here during earlier times in our lives. I even remember dancing here to The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” when Kelly visited several years ago. Rhonda and I walked along the cobbletone street to the stone arch bridge that crosses the Mississippi, ate some bad fried food and watched a lot of other people get drunk while the band (which was actually pretty good) jammed on the grass across the street. Rhonda said that sometimes she really misses a glass of wine. I told her I miss my hazelnut lattes more, but a Mike’s Hard Lemonade sounded really good as we watched the band in the heat.

Eventually we packed up and headed over to the Taste of Minnesota. When Rhonda presented me with our festival options earlier in the day I told her the absolutely last thing that would appeal to me was the Taste of Minnesota. “I’m crowd averse,” I told her. But somehow (must be the hormones) she managed (with little effort) to persuade me to drive into St. Paul and walk with the crowds over the bridge to Harriet Island. And it was definitely not an event for the crowd averse. But I’m glad I went.

An Outdoor Concert at Taste of Minnesota

We looked at cute little booths selling their wares along the river and Rhonda even bought a dark red dress made out of light fabric that will be perfect for the summer heat. We spent quite a bit of time discussing how it is going to fit her. She’s six weeks behind me, but I tried to warn her that she is going to suddenly pop out a lot more than she expects. I did not buy any clothes for myself.

The woman at the lemonade stand asked Rhonda if her nails were real, and Rhonda and I compared our hands. Ann’s kids always talk about “Aunt Barb’s fingernails” but even I hardly recognize my own nails. One of the added benefits of the increased blood flow during pregnancy is that both my hair and my nails are growing faster and stronger than ever. I’ve had to trim my nails every week or so just to keep them manageable. Of course, the increased blood flow leads to other less desirable things like an increase in mucous…. Hence the constant congestion and one plugged ear that I haven’t really been able to hear out of for about 2 months.

We grabbed the healthiest snack we could find (heavily salted and buttered corn on the cob) and sat on the grass and listened to the band. We didn’t stay for the fireworks (pregnant ladies need their sleep), but during my drive home I saw displays in Rosemount and Prescott and Red Wing. All in all a great national holiday, thanks to my date. :)

This coming weekend I’ll be getting together with the family to celebrate TT's 65^th birthday. I can’t wait to see the kids. I haven't seen them since Christmas. It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years since I lay on the living room floor of Ann’s house near Pulaski and felt little Zachary kick for the first time. I will treasure that moment for the rest of my life.