I Love A Parade!

There is something about a parade that gets the blood pumpin' and sets the heart strings atwang.  Flags are waving, children cheering, folks coming out of their homes to sit awhile alongside the road waiting to hear the thumping beat of a marching band. 

Could there be anything more americana than that?

Today's Columbus Day Parade in Newport, Rhode Island, was a special one for me.  As an Italian-American, of course, I see the flags of my parent's homeland and look on with pride.  But as a Mom, today was something special as my entire "everyone's a musician" family was involved in this parade with me not far behind with a camera.  Who would have thought so many years ago when I was changing diapers and watching reruns of every Disney movie imaginable that a day like today would have been in my future.

We read in magazines and travel digests about "getting away" to small town locales where it feels like everybody knows your name and no matter where you go you really belong.  Today's event made that all come to life for me and I never had to cross the bridge to find it.  No matter where you walked, you knew someone.  And if you didn't know them, you struck up a conversation about days gone by and before you knew it, you made a new friend.

Sounds schmaltzy, I know, but it was so true.

The parade went on for less than a mile and from start to finish lasted for maybe 30 minutes.  It wasn't big but it was delightful.  The weather was spectacular and with law enforcement, firefighters, high school bands, political dignitaries, a few bagpipes (yes, you read that right, there were bagpipes at an Italian-American parade), the U.S. Navy and, of course, the Sons of Italy, what it lacked in size, it made up for in heart.

 It was the kind of experience that you file in the "someday I will tell my grandchildren about this" file and smile.

And so to this Mama says . . . cherish every moment and remember it well for this is what daydreams are made of.