Save the Ta-Tas

Happy Independence Day...a day late! What an AWESOME day in this AWESOME city!

Let me back up a couple days. It's Wednesday. I wake up, tired after a very busy week with little sleep. I start the water for my daily shower. I love my shower. I look forward to this time every day. It's my time. My chance to think. And plan my day. And reflect on the day before. And sing. It sets the tone of my whole day. And I always love it. Except today. Unlike every day prior, the water stays cold. I have no choice. I have to do it. Curly hair is NOT meant to be worn a second day. Trust me. I shake. And can hardly catch my breath. But my hair gets clean. I go to work, and don't stop all day. I go to Target for props for the next day's company outing. I don't get home until 8:30. I turn on the stove to make my pasta. It doesn't work. Are you following? Cold water + no gas stove = OUR GAS WAS TURNED OFF!!!!! I was NOT happy. How could this happen you ask? The answer is simple. The genius I'm renting the room from ignores the utility bills rather than telling us to pay them. Then they get shut off because they don't get paid. And I get pissed. I drive to Providence to eat dinner at 10:00 and take a hot shower.

The next day is the company outing. 95 degrees, outside, work people. Enough said.

Knowing I am going to have to take cold showers for several days, I wake up yesterday and work out for about an hour and a half just to work up a sweat. I did. But it didn't help. It was just as cold, just as uncomfortable. But, I'm not going to let that ruin my day. When I meet my friend "T" at noon, it's drizzling. Yuck. She has on a long sleeve white shirt over a pink tank top. She says: "I hope I don't offend you, but I have a tank top on underneath that I bought when I did a walk for breast cancer. Whenever I wear it, it always seems to get some attention." I tell her nothing offends me, and we continue on our way to do all the cheesy Boston tourist things. We walk the freedom trail. We have lunch by Feneuil Hall, and dinner by Fenway Park. We watched the best fireworks show ever, and listen to live music from Rascal Flatts. We saw some interesting people, and the smartest little almost-3-year-old boy ever. We bought fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farmers market. We had a blast. For 12 straight hours, we enjoyed everything our new city had to offer.

While we stood and watched the fireworks, I realized just how different my life is this year than it was at the same time last year. I know the theme of the 4th is freedom, and that word means different things to different people. To me it means freedom to be me. To be able to sing in the shower. To play New Kids on the Block loud and proud. To laugh. To love. To celebrate the good things in life - everyday. After all, there are always good things. But most of all, freedom means being able to walk through the streets of Boston on the 4th of July, wearing a shirt that reads: "Save the Ta-tas".