What's to love about a Post-Pandemic Independence Day? Read on to find out.

Photo by David Kovalenko on Unsplash

As a Boston native, celebrating the 4th holds much nostalgia. Early attendance at the Esplanade to hear the Boston Pops was mandatory in the Harrington clan, and I continue to enjoy that tradition, even if it’s from my living room.

Another treasured moment: watching the fireworks with my friends Johanna and Salim, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this year. Back in the day, I served as their Professional Third Wheel, somehow finding myself tagging along on many of their dates, starting with their first (another story for another post).

Salim emigrated to the U.S. from Algeria, and our Independence Day celebration was new to him. The memory of watching his joy and amazement as the sky lit up over the Mass Ave bridge still tugs at my heart.

The Immigrant Experience holds many beautiful moments, and witnessing them is a gift.

My children’s father is also an immigrant, who came here from Donegal, Ireland, in 1988, with, as the saying goes, “nothing, save the shirt on his back.” An icon of the Immigrant Experience, Mick literally and figuratively built a life from the ground up, having spent his career digging holes for foundations and utilities in and around Boston. All the fiber-optic lines laid down in the 1990s? You can thank him and his epic work ethic.

Mick became a citizen in 2001, mere months before 9/11. Looking back, the innocence of that moment, not knowing what was in store for us individually and as a nation, is not lost on me, nor him.

Witnessing a United States Naturalization Ceremony holds a sanctity that makes time stand still. The sea of people from all across the world, united in their pilgrimage to freedom, is a marvel like no other. It WILL take your breath away.

There is something sweeter in the story of those who became citizens during the pandemic. Dorotea Lima Gentile, it is a blessing to know you and your beautiful family. Nadya Middleton, I don’t know you as much as I know of you through Jennie McGaffigan. Still, I know if the McGaffigan Clan loves you, you are an extraordinary human because Beth and John only accept the best.

Happy First July 4th as a United States citizen to both of you and all who joined you on your journey and all those to come.